GIFT  OF 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 


THE   GERMAN   FURY 
IN    BELGIUM 

EXPERIENCES  OF  A  NETHERLAND  JOURNALIST 

DURING   FOUR   MONTHS  WITH   THE    GERMAN 

ARMY  IN  BELGIUM 


BY 

L.  MOKVELD 

WAR-CORRESPONDENT  OF  "DE  TIJC 


TRANSLATED  BY  C.  THIEME,  LONDON  CORRESPONDENT 
OF  "DE  NIEUWE  COURANT" 


WITH  A  PREFACE  BY 

JOHN  BUCHAN 


NEW  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


V 


' 


PRINTED  TN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PREFACE 

AMONG  the  many  books  published  on  the  behaviour 
of  the  German  Army  in  Belgium,  this  account  by 
a  distinguished  Dutch  journalist  must  occupy  a 
unique  place.  It  is  written  by  a  neutral,  who  held, 
at  the  start,  no  brief  for  either  side.  It  is  written 
by  an  eye-witness,  who  chronicles  not  what  he 
heard,  but  what  he  saw.  It  is  written  also  by  one 
who  mingled  with  the  German  troops  and  was  pres- 
ent at  the  inception  of  the  whole  compaign  of  out- 
rage. Mr.  Mokveld  took  his  life  in  his  hands  when, 
with  great  courage  and  devotion,  he  visited  Vise  and 
Liege  and  Louvain  at  the  most  critical  moments. 
His  character  of  neutral  journalist  was  only  a  flimsy 
protection  among  the  drunken  and  excited  German 
troops.  But  his  boldness  was  justified,  for  after 
many  adventures  he  came  safely  through,  and  he 
was  enabled  in  those  early  weeks  to  see  the  whole 
of  Belgium  from  Liege  to  the  Yser  and  from  Ant- 
werp to  Dinant.  The  result  is  an  admirable  piece  of 
war-correspondence,  which  bears  on  every  page  the 
proofs  of  shrewd  observation  and  a  sincere  love  of 
truth  and  honest  dealing. 

There  is  much  in  Mr.  Mokveld's  narrative  to 
interest  the  historian.  For  example,  he  gives  a 
fuller  account  than  we  have  yet  had  of  that  obscure 
period  when  Liege  had  fallen,  but  its  northern  forts 


3G1147 


vi  PREFACE 

were  still  holding  out.  But  it  is  less  a  history  of 
the  campaign  than  a  chronicle  of  those  lesser  inci- 
dents of  war  which  reveal  the  character  of  the  com- 
batants. No  more  crushing  indictment  of  German 
methods  has  been  issued,  the  more  crushing  since 
it  is  so  fair  and  reasonable.  The  author  has  very 
readily  set  down  on  the  credit  side  any,  act  of  Ger- 
man humanity  or  courtesy  which  he  witnessed  or 
heard  of.  But  the  credit  side  is  meagre  and  the 
black  list  of  crimes  portentous.  Episodes  like  the 
burning  of  Vise  and  the  treatment  of  British  pris- 
oners in  the  train  at  Landen  would  be  hard  to  match 
in  history  for  squalid  horror. 

Two  facts  are  made  clear  by  Mr.  Mokveld's  book, 
if,  indeed,  the  world  has  ever  doubted  them.  The 
first  is  that  the  German  authorities,  believing  their 
victory  to  be  beyond  question,  deliberately  sanc- 
tioned a  campaign  of  frightfulness.  They  did  not 
imagine  that  they  would  ever  be  held  to  account. 
They  wished  to  terrorise  their  opponents  by  show- 
ing them  what  resistance  involved.  The  atrocities 
were  not  the  blunders  of  drink-sodden  reservists, 
but  the  result  of  the  theories  of  half-witted  military 
pedants.  The  second  is  that  the  invading  armies 
were  as  nervous  as  a  hysterical  woman.  Those 
would-be  conquerors  of  the  world  were  frightened 
by  their  own  shadows.  A  shot  fired  by  accident 
from  a  German  rifle  led  to  tales  of  attacks  by  Bel- 
gian francs-tireurs  and  then  to  indiscriminate  murder 
by  way  of  revenge.  Mr.  Mokveld  examined  the 
legends  of  treacherous  Belgian  assaults  and  the 
mutilation  of  the  German  wounded,  and  found 
them  in  every  case  wholly  baseless.  No  German 


PREFACE  vii 

had  ever  seen  these  things  happen,  but  had  only 
heard  of  them.  When  definite  details  were  given, 
Mr.  Mokveld  tracked  them  down  and  found  them 
false.  The  Belgian  atrocities  lacked  even  that 
slender  justification  which  belongs  to  reprisals. 
They  were  the  work  of  a  drunken  and  "rattled" 
soldiery —  for  fear  is  apt  to  make  men  brutal — 
deliberately  encouraged  by  the  authorities,  who 
for  this  purpose  relaxed  the  bonds  of  military  dis- 
cipline. When  the  battle  of  the  Marne  changed 
the  complexion  of  affairs,  these  authorities  grew 
scared  and  repudiated  the  policy,  but  Belgium  re- 
mains a  witness  of  what  Germany's  triumph  means 
for  her  victims. 

JOHN  BUCHAN. 


INTRODUCTION 

A  FEW  words  by  way  of  introduction. 

I  had  wished  to  publish  this  book  a  long  time 
ago,  because  I  think  it  my  duty  to  submit  to  the 
opinion  of  the  public  the  things  which  I  witnessed 
in  the  unfortunate  land  of  the  Belgians,  and  where 
I  was  present  at  such  important  events  as  an  impar- 
tial spectator.  I  call  myself  an  impartial  spectator, 
for  if  this  book  be  anti-German,  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  facts  give  it  that  tendency. 

That  the  book  was  not  published  sooner  is  because 
I  could  not  foresee  more  than  others  how  terribly 
long  the  war  would  last;  and  I  should  have  preferred 
to  wait  till  the  end  in  order  to  insert  several  reports 
which  I  know  are  being  kept  in  the  occupied  part, 
in  order  to  acquaint  the  whole  world  with  the  full 
truth  about  the  behaviour  of  the  Germans.  As 
long  as  the  Germans  keep  the  upper  hand  in  Belgium, 
such  a  publication  cannot  take  place  without  danger 
to  several  persons. 

But  because  the  German  libels  go  on  accusing 
the  Belgium  people  of  horrible  francs-tireurs  acts, 
I  have  thought  that  I  ought  not  to  wait  any  longer 
before  giving  my  evidence  to  the  public. 

This  book  does  not  attempt  to  give  more  than 
evidence  of  the  truth.  It  does  not  claim  to  have 
literary  distinction;  I  have  not  even  tried  to  give 
it  that  stamp.  By  relating  various  events  succes- 

ix 


x  INTRODUCTION 

sively  witnessed,  which  have  no  mutual  connection, 
this  would  be  very  difficult. 

My  stories  are  not  exaggerated  or  touched  up, 
but  are  true  to  reality.  That  is  the  reason  why  the 
German  authorities  have  driven  me  away  from 
Belgium,  and  tried  to  get  hold  of  me  to  punish 
me.  On  that  side  they  are  afraid  that  the  truth 
be  known. 

A  long  time  after  I  had  left  Belgium  I  got  hold 
of  the  Black  List,  in  which  I  am  mentioned  twice 
over  among  eighty-seven  other  persons;  once  as 
Hokveld-Journalist  and  again  as  Mokveld-Corre- 
spondent.  The  list  was  published  by  me  in  De  Tijd 
of  June  2nd,  1915. 

That  I  was  "wanted"  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
two  persons  have  had  the  greatest  trouble  because 
they  were  mistaken  for  the  Mokveld-Correspondent 
of  De  Tijd.  My  colleague  Kemper  passed  a  fort- 
night in  prison  in  Brussels,  accused  of  having  written 
various  articles  in  De  Tijd,  which  were  written  by 
me,  and  I  relate,  in  the  chapter  "Round  about 
Bilsen,"  what  Mr.  Van  Wersch,  another  Nether- 
lander, suffered  for  the  same  reason. 

But  although  the  Germans  are  afraid  to  let  the 
truth  be  known,  there  is  no  reason  why  I  should 
withhold  my  evidence.  On  the  contrary,  I  will  try 
to  do  everything  I  can  to  make  public  opinion  do 
justice  to  the  unfortunate  Belgians,  trodden  down 
and  insulted,  falsely  and  vilely  libelled  by  their 
oppressors,  and  accused  of  offences  of  which  they 
never  were  guilty. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION ix 

CHAPTER 

I  ON  THE  WAY  TO  LI&GE 15 

II  IN  LI£GE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT       .     .  40 

III  ROUND  ABOUT  LI&GE 56 

IV  VISE  DESTROYED:  A  PREMEDITATED  CRIME  72 

V    FRANCS-TlREURS  ?      .       . 87 

VI  WITH  THE  FLEMINGS 95 

VII  LifccE  AFTER  THE  OCCUPATION     ....  108 

VIII  LOUVAIN  DESTROYED 113 

IX  LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST    .     .     .  132 
X  ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  HUY,  ANDENNE,  AND 

NAMUR 147 

XI  FROM  MAASTRICHT  TO  THE   FRENCH  FRON- 
TIER: THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  DINANT  .     .  156 
XII  ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELDS 170 

XIII  ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN        176 

XIV  DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP        .     .     .  195 
XV  THE  ILL-TREATMENT  OF  BRITISH  WOUNDED  217 

XVI  ON  THE  YSER 234 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 


THE  GERMAN   FURY 
IN  BELGIUM 

CHAPTER  I 
ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE 

WHEN  De  Tijd  sent  me  to  Belgium  as  its  corre- 
spondent, I  had  not  the  faintest  notion  practically 
how  to  perform  my  duties,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  I  could  not  apprehend  at  all  how  a  modern 
war  might  be  conducted.  But  I  was  destined  to 
receive  my  first  impressions  when  still  on  Nether- 
land  *  territory  and  after  my  arrival  at  Maastricht. 
On  the  hot  afternoon  of  August  7th,  1914,  the 
much-delayed  train  rumbled  into  the  station  at  Maas- 
tricht. A  dense  mass  stood  in  front  of  the  building. 
Men,  women,  and  children  were  crowded  there  and 
pushed  each  other  weeping,  shouting,  and  question- 
ing. Families  and  friends  tried  to  find  each  other, 
and  many  of  the  folk  of  Maastricht  assisted  the  poor 
creatures,  who,  nervously  excited,  wept  and  wailed 

*The  translator  uses  the  words  "The  Netherlands,  Nether- 
lander," and  "Netherland"  on  purpose.  The  Germans  call  them- 
selves "Deutsch,"  the  Americans  call  them  "Dutch,"  the  Flemish 
use  "Duts"  or  "Duuts,"  and  the  Netherlander  "Duitsch";  so  it 
is  desirable  to  exchange  "Dutch"  for  "Netherland." 

15 


16  .  THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

for  a  father,  for  wife  and  children  lost  in  the  crowd. 
It  was  painful,  pitiful,  this  sight  of  hundreds  of 
fugitives,  who,  although  now  safe,  constantly  feared 
that  death  was  near,  and  anxiously  clutched  small 
parcels,  which  for  the  most  part  contained  worthless 
trifles  hurriedly  snatched  up  when  they  fled. 

And  over  these  nervous  and  terrified  thousands 
at  Maastricht  rolled  from  afar  the  dull  roar  of  the 
guns,  thunder-like  bursts  from  which  had  frightened 
them  so  terribly. 

The  streets  leading  to  the  bridge  over  the  Meuse 
and  into  the  town  were  also  densely  thronged  with 
refugees.  Here  and  there  large  groups  listened  to 
the  stories  told,  with  profusion  of  tears,  of  sufferings 
inflicted,  depicted  in  far  harsher  colours  than  could 
have  been  possible.  But  the  wretched  creatures 
exaggerated  unconsciously;  in  their  affrighted  state 
they  had  seen  things  that  had  never  occurred. 

Suddenly  every  one  in  the  Vrijthof  ran  in  the 
same  direction.  I  waited  calmly,  and  saw  pass  by 
a  tragically  long  train  of  hooded  carts  and  other 
peasants'  conveyances.  The  drivers  walked  by  the 
side  of  the  horses,  the  Red  Cross  flag  flew  from  the 
carriages,  fresh  clean  straw  covered  their  floor,  on 
which  wounded  soldiers  writhed  in  excruciating 
pain.  The  crowd  did  not  press  nearer,  but,  standing 
silently  in  long  rows,  let  the  sad  procession  pass  by. 
Such  were  the  first  impressions  of  the  war  got  in 
these  days;  nobody  uttered  a  sound,  but  many 
stealthily  brushed  a  tear  away. 

Thus  it  went  on  all  day  long:  motors  and  other 
conveyances  travelled  to  and  fro  between  the  battle- 
fields and  hospitals  at  Maastricht;  fugitives  moved 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  17 

about  in  streets  and  squares,  upsetting  each  other 
more  and  more  by  fantastic  stories. 

As  dusk  came  on  nearly  the  whole  population  of 
Maastricht,  with  all  their  temporary  guests,  formed 
an  endless  procession  and  went  to  invoke  God's 
mercy  by  the  Virgin  Mary's  intercession.  They 
went  to  Our  Lady's  Church,  in  which  stands  the 
miraculous  statue  of  Sancta  Maria  Stella  Maris. 
The  procession  filled  all  the  principal  streets  and 
squares  of  the  town.  I  took  my  stand  at  the  corner 
of  the  Vrijthof,  where  all  marched  past  me,  men, 
women,  and  children,  all  praying  aloud,  with  loud 
voices  beseeching:  "Our  Lady,  Star  of  the  Sea, 
pray  for  us  ...  pray  for  us  ...  pray  for  us  ...  I" 

At  the  same  time  bells  rang  .  .  .  and  guns  roared. 

Group  after  group  went  by,  and  I  heard  French 
and  Netherland,  the  Maastricht  vernacular  and 
sweet  Flemish  spoken,  all  sorts  of  tongues  and  modes 
of  utterance.  The  men  were  bare-headed,  and  each 
let  his  rosary  slip  through  his  fingers.  Soon  after 
the  head  of  the  procession  reached  Our  Lady  Square 
the  huge  church  was  packed,  and  those  who  could  not 
find  room  inside  stood  in  the  square,  which  also  very 
soon  was  full  with  these  thousands  of  people  in  a 
dense  mass,  like  so  many  blades  of  grass  in  a  mead- 
ow. 

However  large  the  crowd,  it  was  silent  as  death 
when  the  priest  Jacobs  addressed  them.  He  spoke 
words  of  encouragement,  hope,  and  confidence,  and 
urged  them  to  send  up  their  prayers  to  God  Al- 
mighty— prayers  for  peace.  When  he  had  ended, 
these  thousands  sang  the  "Hymn  to  Mary,"  in  such 
perfect  order  as  if  only  one  superhuman  body  sent 


18   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

forth  an  immensely  powerful  sound  from  earth  to 
Heaven. 

As  I  was  listening  to  that  hymn  the  storms  in  my 
heart  subsided — storms  raised  by  so  many  scenes 
witnessed  during  the  day;  but  as  soon  as  the  sonorous 
voices  were  still,  I  heard  again  the  dull  boom  .  .  . 
boom  .  .  .  boom  ...  of  the  guns.  That  dire  real- 
ity! ... 

The  next  morning  I  got  up  early,  having  been 
unable  to  sleep.  I  realised  already  that  my  task 
was  difficult,  dangerous,  and  full  of  responsibility, 
for  I  had  to  find  out  and  communicate  to  the  public 
the  truth  about  events,  which  would  be  related  as 
beautiful  or  horrid,  according  to  the  interests  of 
my  informants.  It  was  dangerous,  because  I  might 
meet  with  the  same  fate  that  seemed  to  have  been 
inflicted  on  so  many  civilians  already. 

Dressed  in  my  sporting  attire,  and  carrying  some 
necessaries  in  a  knapsack,  I  started  early,  going  to- 
wards Vise  along  the  canal.  As  I  came  to  the 
Netherland  boundary-stone  and  noticed  that  of 
Belgium,  I  had  a  moment  of  doubt,  but  it  lasted  for 
a  second  only.  In  order  to  divert  my  thoughts 
I  walked  somewhat  more  briskly,  but  was  stopped 
suddenly  on  Belgian  ground  by  a  custom-house 
officer.  I  was  astonished  to  see  that  official  there 
still,  for  the  Germans  must  be  quite  near  and — as 
I  had  been  told — small  patrols  had  advanced  fre- 
quently to  this  point.  My  papers  were  found  to 
be  in  order,  and  the  man  seemed  very  happy  to 
meet  a  journalist. 

"It  is  a  pity,  sir,  that  you  did  not  arrive  a  day 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  19 

sooner,  then  you  might  have  witnessed  great  bar- 
barity of  the  Germans.  If  you  walk  on  a  little 
farther  along  the  canal,  you  will  see  three  persons 
hanging  from  a  tree  near  Haccourt;  one  of  these 
is  a  boy  of  fourteen.  Nobody  was  allowed  on  the 
road,  and  as  a  patrol  met  these  three  persons,  they 
concluded  immediately  that  they  were  francs-tireurs, 
strung  them  up  on  the  tree,  without  a  trial  of  any 
sort,  and  in  addition  shot  each  a  bullet  through  the 
head.  To-day  another  patrol  arrived  and  had  the 
effrontery  to  tell  the  members  of  the  Maastricht 
Red  Cross  that  the  boy  had  murdered  a  captain. 
And  we  are  not  allowed  to  remove  the  corpses. 
Horrible!  .  .  .  horrible!" 

"Yes,"  I  reply,  "it  is  bad,  very  bad,  but  is  it 
really  all  true?" 

"True?  True,  sir?  You  go  and  look  for  your- 
self! And  let  me  tell  you  one  thing — there  are 
no  francs-tireurs  here!  We  know  quite  well  what 
we  may  do  and  what  not,  and  only  a  moment  ago 
I  received  a  message  from  the  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior, saying  that  non-combatants  who  shoot  at  the 
enemy  expose  themselves  to  danger  and  their  fellow- 
citizens  to  retaliations." 

I  asked  him  how  things  were  farther  on  along  the 
Meuse,  but  he  knew  nothing.  He  was  stationed 
here,  he  said,  and  was  going  to  stay  as  long  as  pos- 
sible. As  soon  as  the  Germans  arrived,  most  people 
fled,  and  those  who  had  stayed  on  were  no  longer 
allowed  to  leave.  So  he  lacked  all  information,  and 
only  understood  that  fierce  fighting  was  going  on, 
as  was  confirmed  by  the  incessant  thunder  of  the 
guns.  Fort  Pontisse  was,  moreover,  not  so  very  far 


20   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

away,  and  frequently  we  could  distinctly  tell,  by  their 
whistling  sound,  in  which  direction  the  shells  flew. 

After  a  few  encouraging  words  I  walked  on  along 
the  solitary,  deserted  road,  leaving  the  canal  on  the 
right,  until  a  by-way  took  me  to  the  bank  of  the 
Meuse,  opposite  the  Netherland  frontier  village 
Eysden.  I  entered  a  deserted  inn.  After  shouting 
for  a  long  time,  the  inn-keeper  appeared,  looked 
shyly  at  me,  remaining  constantly  close  by  the  door 
of  his  room.  His  attitude  showed  that  he  was 
prepared  to  fly  at  the  slightest  suspicious  movement 
on  my  part;  but  as  soon  as  I  had  convinced  him 
that  I  was  a  Netherland  journalist,  he  became  more 
friendly,  and  called  his  wife  and  daughters,  so  that 
I  might  tell  them  all  I  knew.  They  were  very  de- 
sirous to  know  how  the  war  went  ...  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, and  whether  we  were  fighting  the  Germans 
or  the  English?  It  was  very  difficult  to  make  them 
understand  that  they  were  under  a  misapprehension, 
but  when  I  had  at  last  succeeded  in  this,  I  started 
in  my  turn  to  ask  them  what  they  thought  of  my  in- 
tention to  go  farther. 

uGo  farther,  sir?  But  .  .  .  but  .  .  .  sir,  don't 
do  that!  The  Germans  shoot  every  civilian  whom 
they  set  eyes  on." 

"Oh,  go  on!"  I  answered.  "I  don't  think  that 
I  need  fear  anything  of  the  kind.  I  am  in  any  case 
a  Netherlander!" 

"Netherlander  or  not,  it  does  not  matter.  Who- 
soever one  be,  every  civilian  is  shot  down  by 
them." 

"Are  they  at  a  great  distance  from  here?" 

"Not  at  all!     If  you  step  outside,  you  can  see 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  21 

them  standing,  ten  minutes  from  here.  Near 
Lixhe  they  threw  a  bridge  across  the  Meuse.  It 
is  the  third  already  which  they  put  down,  for  each 
time  they  are  smashed  from  the  fort.  Oh,  it  is 
horrible;  there  must  surely  fall  a  number  of  dead, 
and  here  we  have  seen  corpses  in  the  Meuse  already. 
.  .  .  But  I  do  not  understand  how  you  ventured  to 
come  here.  .  .  ." 

Well,  I  did  not  quite  fancy  the  prospect  of  being 
shot  like  a  dog,  and  as  I  had  not  yet  come  into  touch 
with  the  Germans,  it  was  difficult  to  say  whether 
these  people  exaggerated  or  not.  But  just  opposite 
was  Eysden,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go  there 
for  further  information. 

Netherland  soldiers  and  inhabitants  of  the  village 
bustled  about  along  the  opposite  river-bank.  I 
shouted  as  loudly  as  possible;  and  when  at  last  I 
succeeded  in  drawing  their  attention,  I  made  them 
understand  that  I  wanted  to  be  pulled  across  in 
the  little  boat,  which  in  ordinary  times  served  as 
a  ferry.  A  short  consultation  took  place  now  on 
the  opposite  side,  after  which  a  soldier,  who  clearly 
possessed  a  strong  voice,  came  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  waterside  and,  making  a  trumpet  of  his  two 
hands,  roared: 

"Not  allowed!" 

"Why  not?" 

"We  are  neutrals!" 

"So  am  I;  I  am  a  Netherlander!11 

"Possibly!     Not  allowed!" 

And  at  the  same  moment  he  turned  round  and 
joined  the  others. 

So  I  was  left  there.     The  Netherlanders  refused 


22       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

to  pull  me  across  in  consequence  of  an  exaggerated 
fear  of  violating  their  neutrality;  the  Germans  in 
front  of  me  intended,  it  was  said,  to  shoot  me  down 
as  soon  as  I  ventured  to  get  near.  But  to  retrace 
my  steps  .  .  .  that  is  a  thing  I  had  never  done  yet. 
For  a  few  moments  I  stood  there  undecided,  but 
then  made  up  my  mind  to  see  what  was  going  to 
happen,  and  went  on,  in  spite  of  the  warnings  of 
the  kind-hearted  innkeeper  and  his  family,  who  called 
out  to  me  to  return. 

The  terrible  thunder  of  the  guns,  of  both  be- 
siegers and  besieged,  vibrated  through  the  air.  In 
the  distance  I  noticed  a  couple  of  men,  probably 
German  soldiers,  but  a  pontoon-bridge  was  nowhere 
to  be  seen.  After  a  few  minutes,  however,  I  reached 
a  spot  where  the  Meuse  makes  a  short  curve,  and 
had  scarcely  walked  round  it,  when  I  saw,  only  a 
couple  of  hundred  yards  away,  the  bridge  in  ques- 
tion, across  which  a  long  train  of  vehicles  was  pass- 
ing, loaded  with  victuals,  hay,  straw,  etc. 

On  this  side  hundreds  of  soldiers  were  standing; 
they  had  taken  off  their  uniforms  in  the  fierce  heat, 
and  were  busy  loading  and  unloading  and  changing 
horses.  From  time  to  time  the  entire  scene  was 
hidden  by  the  smoke  from  numerous  burning  houses 
at  Lixhe,  quite  near  the  river.  I  walked  in  the 
most  casual  way,  in  an  unconcerned  attitude,  looked 
calmly  at  some  of  the  houses  I  passed,  and  which 
were  for  the  greater  part  destroyed.  The  walls 
were  pierced  by  bullets,  the  rooms  generally  burnt 
out;  in  the  front  gardens  lay  all  sorts  of  furniture, 
dragged  out  of  the  house  and  then  smashed  to  pieces. 

The  road  was  all  strewn  with  straw.   I  approached 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  23 

the  bridge  past  burning  farms  and  villas.  There 
the  pieces  of  broken  furniture  were  even  lying  in 
the  road,  and  I  had  to  go  warily  so  that  I  should  not 
stumble.  The  soldiers  looked  at  me  as  if  they  were 
amused,  but  I  went  up  to  them  in  the  same  uncon- 
cerned manner  and  asked  them  to  take  me  to  their 
commanding  officer. 

"What  do  you  want  with  him?" 

"I  am  a  Netherland  journalist,  and  want  to  ask 
the  commander's  permission  to  go  to  Liege." 

"Oh,  you  are  a  Netherlander;  then  come  along." 

They  took  me  to  two  officers  who  stood  near  the 
bridge,  and  told  them  that  I  "pretended"  to  be  a 
Netherland  journalist.  Having  proved  this  by  my 
papers,  the  officers  gave  me  an  escort  of  three  men, 
who  conducted  me  to  the  bridge-commander,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Meuse. 

I  had  to  walk  along  the  very  edge  of  the  unstable 
bridge  in  order  to  avoid  the  wheels  of  the  passing 
carriages,  which  shook  the  whole  bridge  and  made 
the  rather  loose  boards  clatter.  In  the  meantime, 
at  no  considerable  distance,  some  shells  fell  in  the 
Meuse,  fired  at  the  bridge  from  Port  Pontisse.  Yet, 
I  did  not  mind  it  at  all,  as  all  these  new  experiences 
stunned  me,  so  to  speak;  the  incessant  hellish  noises 
of  the  batteries,  the  burning  houses,  the  smoke 
swooping  down,  the  excited  soldiers.  .  .  . 

As  we  crossed  the  bridge,  I  asked  my  escort  why 
these  houses  were  set  on  fire.  I  heard  then,  for 
the  first  time,  that  "they  had  been  shooting,"  and 
they  told  me  of  cowardly  civilians,  who  shot  from 
the  windows  at  unsuspicious  soldiers,  or  stabbed 
them  treacherously.  But  of  course  they  had  ex- 


24       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

perienced  nothing  of  the  kind;  it  had  happened  to 
troops  who  were  now  moving  ahead.  They  had, 
however,  taken  part  in  the  revenge,  and  told 
of  it  with  glittering  eyes:  how  they  fired  the 
houses  of  francs-tireurs  and  then  shot  the  people 
who,  nearly  stifled,  appeared  at  the  windows;  how 
in  "holy"  anger,  in  order  to  avenge  their  comrades, 
they  subsequently  entered  the  houses  and  destroyed 
everything.  I  did  not  answer,  did  not  know  what 
to  think  of  it,  but  shuddered,  because  it  was  so 
gruesome. 

They  told  this,  while  we  were  waiting  on  a  couple 
of  protruding  boards  of  the  pontoon-bridge,  so  as 
to  allow  some  extremely  wide  carts  to  pass.  Once 
again  shells  exploded,  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
behind  us,  and  one  made  a  hole  in  the  bank  quite 
near. 

''Horrible !"  I  sighed.  "Have  they  not  yet  hit 
the  bridge?" 

"Oh  yes,  it  has  been  destroyed  already  a  couple 
of  times,  but  we  shall  teach  them  a  lesson!  Why 
did  not  the  Belgians  allow  us  to  pass  through  their 
country?  What  can  their  little  army  do  against 
us?  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  have  crossed 
we  shall  go  for  these  forts,  then  on  to  Brussels, 
and  within  a  fortnight  we  shall  be  in  Paris.  Liege 
we  have  taken  already." 

"It  will  cost  a  great  many  men!" 

"We  have  plenty  of  them;  but  many  of  us  fall 
by  the  treacherous  shooting  of  the  civilians;  they 
are  swine,  swine!  And  these  Belgian  women  .  .  . 
they  are  the  dirtiest  bitches  .  .  .  beastly  swine  .  .  ." 

The  man  got  more  and  more  excited,  but  then 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  25 

he  was  more  than  "half-seas  over."  The  smoke 
made  him  cough  and  he  stuck  in  the  middle  of  his 
"swine."  He  made  me  shudder,  and  I  hastened 
to  pull  out  a  packet  of  cigarettes,  some  of  which 
I  gave  to  him  and  his  mates.  In  consequence  the 
two  others  became  more  communicative,  and  in 
touching  harmony  assured  me  that: 

"Oh  yes,  the  Netherlanders  are  our  friends;  they 
remain  neutral.  And  that  is  the  best,  for  otherwise 
the  whole  lot  would  be  smashed  up,  exactly  as  here 
in  Belgium." 

They  did  not  understand,  of  course,  that  poor 
Belgium  would  have  liked  nothing  better  than  to 
remain  neutral  also. 

Those  wide  carts  had  passed  us  now,  and  we  could 
proceed  slowly.  The  bridge  led  to  a  farmhouse 
with  tall  trees  and  underwood.  They  took  me  to 
the  right,  to  a  densely  overgrown  spot,  where  a 
clearing  had  been  made  amidst  some  smaller  shrubs. 
In  the  centre  stood  a  table  covered  with  a  shining 
white  cloth,  and  a  goodly  number  of  wine-bottles 
and  glasses.  Half  a  dozen  officers  in  fine  uniforms, 
gilt  collars  and  epaulettes,  were  seated  around  it. 

The  sight  of  that  small  group,  hidden  among  the 
green  foliage,  was  as  brilliant  as  it  was  surprising. 
One  of  the  officers,  clearly  the  highest  in  rank, 
summoned  us  to  come  nearer,  and  asked  the  soldiers 
for  an  explanation.  Standing  smartly  at  attention, 
they  gave  it,  as  a  school-child  might  haltingly  recite 
a  lesson  learned  by  heart.  The  officer  whom  I 
thought  it  convenient  to  call  "Captain"  looked 
searchingly  at  me  and  then  began: 

"Have  you  got  papers?" 


26       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"Yes,  captain." 

I  pulled  them  out:  birth  certificate,  certificate  of 
good  conduct,  foreign  passport,  and  press-card, 
which  were  examined  the  one  after  the  other. 

"Are  they  genuine?" 

"Of  course,  captain;  everything  is  properly 
signed,  stamped,  and  legalised." 

"And  what  do  you  want  to  write  about?" 

"I  don't  know  yet.  The  things  I  see  ...  and 
...  of  course  that  cannot  do  harm  to  the  German 
army." 

"Hm!  Hm!  All  right.  So  you  intend  to  write 
friendly  about  us?" 

"Certainly,  certainly,  sir!  Exactly  because  we 
hear  so  many  lies  from  foreign  countries  about  the 
Germans,  I  want  to  try  and  find  out  the  truth  for 
myself." 

"Is  that  so?  Well,  the  Netherlanders  are  our 
friends,  and  have  so  much  in  common  with  our 
people." 

"Certainly,  captain;  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  are 
of  the  same  race." 

But  here  he  looked  at  me  in  a  curious  manner, 
scrutinising  my  face,  as  if  he  asked  himself:  "Is  he 
pulling  my  leg,  or  not?"  But  not  a  muscle  in  my 
face  moved,  so  that  the  "Captain"  nodded  ap- 
provingly .  .  .  and  wrote  out  a  pass  for  me  to  go 
to  Vise !  I  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  Liege,  for,  as 
he  said,  he  did  not  yet  know  himself  how  matters 
stood  there.  The  other  officers  overwhelmed  me 
with  questions:  how  matters  stood  in  The  Nether- 
lands, and  whether  Great  Britain  had  already 
declared  war  against  us?  I  think  that  at  that  ques- 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  27 

tion  I  looked  utterly  perplexed,  for  in  the  same 
breath  they  told  me  all  they  knew  about  the  danger 
of  war  for  The  Netherlands:  Great  Britain  first 
sent  an  ultimatum  to  The  Netherlands,  to  force  her 
into  joining  the  Allies  against  Germany,  and  as  she 
had  refused,  the  British  Fleet  was  now  on  its  way 
to  Flushing.  I  explained  to  them  in  detail  that  they 
were  utterly  wrong,  but  they  believed  only  a  half  of 
what  I  said. 

There  was  a  continuous  coming  and  going  at  the 
bridge -command,  for  when  I  left  the  shrubberies 
a  great  many  soldiers  of  high  and  low  rank,  with 
portfolios  and  documents,  were  waiting  outside. 
The  soldiers  were  to  escort  me  back  across  the 
bridge,  so  that  I  might  go  on  to  Vise  along  the  other 
bank. 

Before  I  got  to  the  bridge  I  saw  something  grue- 
some: a  number  of  corpses  of  soldiers  were  lying 
about  and  others  were  brought  in  ...  a  little 
farther  away,  on  the  farm,  there  they  were  digging. 
.  .  .  I  looked  away  quickly;  I  was  not  yet  accus- 
tomed to  that  sort  of  thing.  Most  likely  they  were 
men  killed  a  moment  ago  by  shells  aimed  at  the 
bridge,  for  wounded  men  were  also  brought  in  on 
stretchers. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  bridge  I  was  left  by  my 
escort,  and  went  on  alone;  on  my  left  the  Meuse, 
on  my  right  burning  houses,  above  me  hissing  and 
whistling  shells,  that  came  down  in  front  of  me  and 
behind  me,  with  tremendous  explosions,  throwing 
the  loose  earth  high  into  the  air. 

In  Devant-le-Pont,  a  hamlet  opposite  Vise,  the 
doors  of  all  the  houses  stood  open,  as  a  sign  that  the 


28       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

inhabitants  did  not  propose  to  offer  any  resistance 
to  the  Germans.  After  much  shouting  the  land- 
lady of  a  cafe  appeared,  distressingly  nervous,  but 
doing  her  utmost  to  look  unconcerned. 

"A  glass  of  beer,  madame." 

"If  you  please." 

"The  guns  are  horrid,  madame;  are  you  not 
afraid?" 

"No,  sir,  we  must  hope  for  the  best." 

"Have  the  Germans  done  no  harm  here  yet?" 

"Oh  no,  sir,  not  at  all!" 

"Are  they  tolerably  kind?" 

"Oh,  quite  nice  people,  sir!" 

Her  reserve  told  me  that  I  would  not  get  much 
information  here,  and,  finishing  my  beer,  I  asked: 

"How  much  is  it,  madame?" 

"This?     Nothing,  sir,  nothing." 

"Nothing!  But,  madame,  I  want  to  pay  for  what 
I  drink!" 

"No,  no,  I  won't  take  anything  for  it.  It  is 
hot,  is  it  not,  and  a  soldier  ought  to  get  some- 
thing. .  .  ." 

I  understood  only  then  why  the  woman  was  so 
full  of  praise  of  the  Germans,  although  she  was 
shaking  in  her  shoes:  she  thought  I  was  a  soldier! 
How  heavily  weighed  the  oppressor's  hand  on  the 
wretched  population,  if  now  already  the  honest 
Belgian  heart  became  hypocritical! 

I  had  great  trouble  to  make  her  understand  that 
I  was  a  Netherlander;  and  that  changed  at  once 
her  opinion  for  the  Germans.  She  told  me  then 
that  her  husband  and  children  had  fled  to  The 
Netherlands,  as  had  most  of  the  inhabitants,  and 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  29 

that  she  was  left  behind  merely  because  she  dawdled 
too  long.  And  now  she  was  constantly  afraid  that 
they  might  fire  her  house  as  they  did  the  others,  and 
murder  her  .  .  .  for  such  had  been  the  fate  of 
several  of  the  villagers.  Even  whole  families  had 
been  killed. 

Many  civilians  had  been  put  to  death,  accused  of 
having  shot  from  the  houses,  and  others  for  refus- 
ing to  give  up  requisitioned  food.  Probably  they 
had  none,  as  preceding  military  divisions  had  already 
taken  away  all  there  was.  Then  some  civilians  were 
killed  for  refusing  to  work  for  the  enemy.  The 
houses  of  all  these  "condemned"  had  been  burnt, 
and  everything  the  soldiers  fancied  was  looted.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  nearly  all  the  soldiers  I  met  later 
on  were  drunk,  and  they  worried  me  constantly. 
Only  when  I  had  proved  to  be  a  Netherlander,  they 
behaved  a  little  better,  and  started  abusing  "the 
cursed  Belgians,"  who,  according  to  them,  were  all 
francs-tireurs. 

A  short  distance  beyond  this  little  cafe  lies  the 
large  bridge  across  the  Meuse.  Before  the  Germans 
arrived  it  was  partly  destroyed  by  the  Belgians,  but 
so  inadequately  that  obviously  the  enemy  could  re- 
pair it  easily.  Bombs  were  therefore  fired  regularly 
from  Fort  Pontisse  at  the  bridge,  and  only  an 
hour  ago  it  had  been  hit,  with  the  result  that  a  big 
hole  was  made  in  the  undamaged  part.  In  the 
road  also  big  holes  were  made  by  the  exploding 
projectiles.  Having  passed  underneath  the  viaduct 
of  the  bridge,  I  found  myself  opposite  Vise  on  the 
sloping  bank  of  the  Meuse.  Two  boys  had  been 
commanded  by  the  Germans  to  work  the  ferry- 


30   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

boat  for  them,  and  after  I  had  shown  them  my 
passport,  they  took  me  to  the  other  side. 

It  was  a  fine  summer  afternoon,  and  the  sun  shone 
on  the  many  bright,  whitewashed  walls  of  the  old 
and  neat  little  town,  built  close  to  the  rapidly  flow- 
ing river.  There  was  quiet  in  the  streets,  although 
nearly  all  the  inhabitants  were  sitting  on  their 
chairs  in  the  streets.  But  nobody  ventured  to 
move  about,  and  conversations  were  held  only  in 
whispers.  As  I  walked  through  the  village  street 
in  my  quaint  get-up,  they  pushed  their  chairs  a 
little  closer  together  as  if  frightened,  and  looked 
shyly  at  me  as  if  they  feared  that  I  was  not  the 
harbinger  of  much  good.  And  all  these  hundreds  of 
people  saluted  me  humbly,  almost  cringingly,  which 
filled  me  with  pity. 

Vise  had  not  been  burnt  yet,  as  had  been  reported 
in  The  Netherlands.  Only  here  and  there  had  the 
shells  done  some  damage,  and  hundreds  of  window- 
panes  had  been  burst  by  the  vibration  of  the  air. 
As  a  token  of  submission  to  the  invader,  small  white 
flags  hung  from  all  the  windows,  and  these,  along 
the  whole  length  of  a  street,  made  a  decidedly 
lamentable  impression.  * 

The  inhabitants  had  already  had  a  variety  of 
experiences.  On  Tuesday,  August  4th,  the  first 
German  troops  arrived  before  the  little  town.  The 
gendarmes  stationed  there  offered  resistance  to  the 
invading  enemy,  but,  being  hopelessly  outnumbered, 
they  were  all  shot  down.  As  they  were  lying  on  the 
ground,  badly  wounded,  Dr.  Frits  Coffin,  head  of 
St.  Hadelin  College,  came  in  great  haste  as  soon  as 
he  heard  the  shooting. 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  31 

All  the  wounded  were  Roman  Catholics,  and  as 
they  saw  the  approaching  priest,  they  implored  him 
in  a  loud  voice  to  give  them  absolution  of  sins, 
some  making  an  act  of  contrition.  The  priest  was 
unable  to  come  near  each  of  them,  and  therefore 
called  out  in  a  loud  voice:  "My  Jesus,  be  merci- 
ful!" He  then  gave  them  all  absolution  of  sins. 
But  as  he  kneeled  down  to  perform  this  sacred  task, 
a  hostile  bullet  whizzed  past  his  ear,  and  several 
soldiers  who  ran  by  aimed  at  him,  so  that  he  had  to 
seek  safety  behind  a  tree.  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes 
five  bullet-holes  in  the  tree  that  was  pointed  out 
to  me. 

In  those  first  days  many  civilians  were  killed,  and 
not  only  in  Vise,  but  still  more  in  the  surrounding 
villages,  Mouland  and  Berneaux,  which  were  soon 
burnt  down  and  where  many  a  good  man  was 
brought  low  by  the  murderous  bullets.  The  savage 
soldiers  killed  the  cattle  also,  and  a  large  number  of 
carcases  had  been  lying  about  for  days. 

At  Vise  many  men  had  been  commanded  to  do 
certain  kinds  of  work,  cutting  down  trees,  making 
of  roads,  bridges,  and  so  on.  Many  of  them  never 
returned,  because  they  refused  to  do  the  humiliating 
work  and  were  shot.  Among  these  there  were  even 
aged  people;  and  I  myself  stood  by  the  death-bed 
of  a  man  of  ninety,  who  had  been  forced  to  assist 
in  building  a  bridge,  until  the  poor  wretch  broke 
down  and  was  carried  to  St.  Hadelin  College,  turned 
into  a  hospital  by  Dr.  Goffin;  there  he  died. 

No  wonder  that  the  inhabitants  were  afraid  and 
looked  askance  at  me  as  they  mistook  me  for  a 
German. 


32   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

On  this  day,  August  8th,  the  reign  of  terror  was 
still  in  full  force.  There  were  repeated  threats  to 
burn  the  town  and  to  kill  the  inhabitants  if  they 
objected  to  do  work  or  to  deliver  certain  goods, 
especially  wine  and  gin,  of  which  thousands  of 
bottles  were  requisitioned  daily.  Several  times  a 
day  they  were  summoned  by  a  bell  and  informed 
what  the  invader  wanted,  the  necessary  threats  be- 
ing added  to  the  command.  And  the  inhabitants, 
in  mortal  fear,  no  longer  trusted  each  other,  but 
searched  each  other's  houses  for  things  that  might 
be  delivered  to  satisfy  the  Germans. 

The  entire  neighbourhood  was  still  being  bom- 
barded from  the  forts  to  the  north  of  Liege ;  several 
German  divisions  succeeded,  however,  in  crossing 
the  Meuse  near  Lixhe.  In  spite  of  the  shell-fire 
they  passed  the  pontoon-bridge  there,  turned  into 
a  by-way  leading  to  the  canal,  near  Haccourt,  crossed 
one  of  the  canal-bridges,  of  which  not  one  had  been 
destroyed,  and  along  another  by-way,  came  to  the 
main  road  from  Maastricht  to  Tongres,  at  a  spot 
about  three  miles  from  the  last-named  town. 

The  shelling  went  on  during  the  night,  and  all 
that  time  the  inhabitants  remained  in  their  cellars. 

Although  I  had  got  farther  on  my  way  than  I 
had  dared  to  expect,  my  journalist's  heart  longed 
for  more.  If  I  could  get  to  Liege,  which  was  said 
to  have  just  been  taken!  But  my  passport  stated 
that  I  was  only  allowed  to  go  to  Vise.  I  thought 
the  matter  out,  and  the  longer  I  thought,  the 
stronger  became  my  desire  to  go  on;  and  at  last 
I  decided  to  do  it. 

Near  the  outskirts  of  the  town  I  found  barricades 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  33 

which,  however,  seemed  not  to  have  been  used,  but 
stray  shells  had  knocked  large  pieces  out  of  the  low, 
wide  wall  between  the  road  and  the  Meuse's  flowing 
water. 

There  was  not  much  traffic.  Only  here  and  there 
stood  some  German  soldiers,  or  seriously  wounded 
men  were  lying  on  mattresses  and  chairs.  Nearly 
every  house  by  the  roadside  had  been  turned  into 
an  emergency  hospital,  for  from  all  sides  they 
brought  in  soldiers  wounded  by  shells  that  had  ex- 
ploded amidst  the  advancing  divisions. 

The  road  along  which  I  walked,  the  main  road 
between  Vise  and  Liege,  was  laid  under  fire  from 
various  forts,  and  every  moment  I  saw  on  my  left 
clouds  rise  up  from  the  rocky  heights  that  run  along 
the  whole  of  the  Meuse.  These  clouds  were  partly 
formed  by  smoke  from  the  guns  mounted  by  the 
Germans  against  the  forts,  partly  by  volumes  of 
earth  thrown  up  by  the  projectiles  from  the  broken- 
up  soil. 

I  myself  ran  great  risks  too,  but  I  did  not  mind, 
and  walked  on,  moved  by  a  consuming  desire  to  get 
to  Liege,  and  then  back  to  Maastricht,  to  be  able 
to  wire  to  my  paper  that  I  had  been  to  Liege 
only  just  after  it  was  taken  by  the  Germans,  and 
that  the  news,  wired  from  Germany  to  the  Nether- 
land  papers,  that  the  forts  had  been  taken  was 
untrue. 

I  had  a  short  chat  with  the  wounded  men  near 
the  various  houses,  on  demand  showed  my  passport 
to  those  in  authority,  and  was  advised  as  a  friendly 
Netherlander  to  return,  as  it  was  extremely  dan- 
gerous on  the  road.  But  I  did  not  dream  of  doing 


34       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

this,  as  long  as  I  was  not  compelled,  and  went  on 
towards  Liege  amidst  this  maddening  thunder. 

I  had  walked  another  three  miles,  when  a  big 
crowd  of  fugitives  met  me.  They  seemed  to  have 
come  a  long  way,  for  the  majority  could  hardly  walk 
on,  and  had  taken  off  their  shoes  and  boots,  on 
account  of  the  scorching  heat,  going  on  barefooted 
in  the  shade  of  the  tall  trees.  It  was  a  procession, 
numbering  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  aged  were  supported,  the  babies  carried.  Most 
of  them  had  a  small  parcel  on  their  back  or  under 
their  arm.  They  seemed  tired  to  death,  had  dark 
red  faces,  and  betrayed  great  fear  and  nervousness. 
I  crossed  the  road  to  speak  to  them,  and  as  soon 
as  they  noticed  it  the  whole  crowd,  numbering  hun- 
dreds of  people,  stood  still,  creeping  closer  to- 
gether, women  and  girls  trying  hard  to  hide  them- 
selves behind  the  men,  and  these  doffed  their  caps 
timidly. 

I  was  really  sorry  that  I  had  dressed  myself  in 
that  grey  Norfolk  suit,  long  stockings,  a  knapsack 
strapped  to  the  back,  and  a  leather  strap  with  a 
water-bottle.  The  unfortunate  creatures  thought 
that  I  was  a  German  soldier.  I  was  bewildered  for 
a  moment,  but  then  guessed  their  thoughts  and 
hastened  to  comfort  them. 

I  could  not  get  much  information  from  them. 
Twenty  spoke  at  the  same  time;  in  halting,  inco- 
herent words  they  tried  to  tell  me  of  their  experi- 
ences, but  I  could  only  catch:  killed  .  .  .  murders 
.  .  .  fire  .  .  .  guns.  .  .  .  After  much  trouble  I 
gathered  that  they  came  from  the  villages  to  the 
north  of  Liege,  where  the  Germans  had  told  them 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  35 

that  on  that  same  day,  within  an  hour,  everything 
would  be  burned  down.  Everybody  had  left  these 
places,  a  good  many  had  gone  to  Liege,  but  these 
people  did  not  think  it  safe  there  either,  and  wanted 
to  go  on  to  The  Netherlands 

After  giving  them  some  advice  how  to  get  to 
The  Netherlands,  and  offering  some  words  of  sym- 
pathy, I  wanted  to  go  on,  but  as  they  realised  this, 
the  poor,  kind  creatures  surrounded  me;  many  wom- 
en began  to  weep,  and  from  all  sides  they  cried: 

"To  Liege?  You  want  to  go  to  Liege?  But,  sir! 
— but,  sir!  We  fled  to  escape  death,  because  the 
Germans  are  going  to  burn  down  everything  and 
shoot  everybody.  Please  don't,  sir;  they'll  kill  you 
.  .  .  kill  you  .  .  .  shoot  you  .  .  .  kill  you!" 

"Come,  come,"  I  replied,  touched  by  the  kind 
anxiety  of  these  people.  "Come,  come;  it  won't 
be  as  bad  as  all  that,  and,  then,  I  am  a  Nether- 
lander." 

That  "being  a  Netherlander"  had  become  my 
stock-argument,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  made 
me  feel  calmer.  Quietly  I  made  myself  free  of  the 
surrounding  crowd,  in  order  to  proceed  on  my  way; 
but  then  they  got  hold  of  my  arms  and  gently  tried 
to  induce  me  to  go  with  them,  so  I  had  to  speak 
more  firmly  to  make  them  understand  that  they 
could  not  prevail  on  me.  When  at  last  I  was  able 
to  resume  my  march,  they  looked  back  frequently, 
shaking  their  heads,  and  in  their  anxiety  for  me, 
their  fellow-creature,  they  seemed  to  forget  for  a 
moment  their  own  hardly  bearable  sorrows. 

A  moment  later  a  gigantic  motor-car  came  racing 
down  at  a  great  speed.  Six  soldiers  stood  up  in  it, 


36   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

their  rifles  pointed  at  me.  I  thought  that  they 
intended  to  shoot  me  and  everybody  they  might 
meet,  but  a  seventh  soldier  standing  by  the  side  of 
the  chauffeur  made  a  movement  with  his  arms,  from 
which  I  understood  that  he  wanted  me  to  put  my 
hands  up.  I  did  so. 

It  is  a  simple  affair,  this  putting  up  one's  hands, 
but  even  at  such  a  moment  a  free  citizen  has  a 
strong  objection  against  being  compelled  to  this  by 
others,  who  are  no  more  than  one's  self,  who  ask 
it  without  any  right,  except  the  might  derived  from 
the  weapon  in  their  hands. 

When  they  had  passed,  I  looked  round  at  the  peo- 
ple I  had  left  a  moment  ago.  .  .  .  There  they  lay 
in  the  road,  kneeling,  lifting  their  trembling  hands, 
although  the  motor-car  was  already  a  couple  of 
hundred  yards  away. 

Argenteau  was  not  damaged  much,  but  the  in- 
habitants remained  quietly  inside  their  houses,  or 
probably  stayed  in  their  cellars,  for  fear  of  the 
shells  that  tore  through  the  air  constantly. 

By  and  by  I  began  to  feel  that  I  had  already 
walked  about  twenty  miles  in  this  great  heat,  but 
I  would  not  think  of  stopping  before  reaching  my 
goal. 

At  Cherath  railway-carriages  were  lying  in  the 
road  at  the  level-crossing  of  Vise-Liege  line,  farther 
on  barbed-wire  cut  into  pieces,  felled  trees,  and  so 
on.  German  soldiers  had  moved  these  things  out 
of  the  way,  and  motor-cars  could  pass  by  again.  In 
the  village  itself  I  saw  a  man,  with  a  white  armlet, 
posting  up  a  bill,  and  as  I  had  seen  similar  damp 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  37 

bills  sticking  on  the  walls  in  the  other  villages,  I 
drew  nearer  to  read  it. 
The  bill  ran  as  follows: — 

"Community  of  ... 

"To  the  inhabitants. 

"The  powerful  German  army,  victorious  in  our 
district,  has  promised  to  respect  our  land  and  private 
possessions. 

"In  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed  it  is 
necessary  to  retain  the  greatest  possible  tranquillity 
and  calm. 

"The  burgomaster  informs  the  population  that 
any  utterance  contrary  to  the  regulations  will  be 
severely  punished. 

"THE  BURGOMASTER." 

The  bill-poster  replied  "yes"  or  "no"  to  my  ques- 
tions, whichever  answer  fitted,  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  finished  his  task  he  hurriedly  trotted  off.  I 
did  not  see  any  other  inhabitant. 

Outside  Cherath  a  motor-car  stood  between  some 
partially  removed  trees.  Two  officers  and  three 
soldiers  stood  around  a  map  which  they  had  laid 
on  the  ground,  and  with  them  was  a  young  girl, 
scarcely  twenty  years  old.  She  was  weeping,  and 
pointed  out  something  on  the  map,  obviously  com- 
pelled to  give  information.  One  of  the  officers 
stopped  me,  was  clearly  quite  satisfied  with  my 
papers,  but  told  me  that  I  was  not  allowed  to  go 
on  without  a  permit  from  the  military  command. 
Then  I  pulled  out  of  my  pocket,  as  if  of  great  im- 
portance, the  scrap  of  paper  which  the  commanding 
officer  at  the  bridge  near  Lixhe  had  given  me.  The 


38   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

other  had  scarcely  seen  the  German  letters  and  Ger- 
man stamp  when  he  nodded  his  head  approvingly, 
and  quickly  I  put  the  thing  back,  so  that  he  might 
not  notice  that  I  was  allowed  only  to  go  to  Vise. 

At  Jupile  I  saw  a  pontoon-bridge,  not  in  use  for 
the  moment.  Just  before  this  place  a  slightly  slop- 
ing road  leads  from  the  hills  to  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Meuse  and  the  main  road  Vise-Liege.  Along 
this  road  descended  at  that  moment  an  immense 
military  force — uhlans,  cuirassiers,  infantry,  more 
cuirassiers,  artillery,  munition  and  forage-carts. 
The  train  seemed  endless,  and  although  I  stood  there 
looking  at  it  for  quite  a  long  time,  the  end  had  not 
passed  me. 

It  was  an  imposing  sight  to  see  all  these  various 
divisions  in  their  brilliant  uniforms  coming  down 
along  the  road,  the  soldiers'  uniforms  still  without 
a  stain,  the  horses  in  new,  fine,  strong  leather  har- 
ness, and  the  rumbling  and  jolting  guns.  The  sol- 
diers sang  patriotic  songs,  and  among  them  rode  the 
officers,  proud  and  imperious,  many  with  a  monocle, 
looking  round  superciliously. 

I  was  the  only  civilian  in  that  road,  and  the 
soldiers,  with  much  curiosity,  stared  at  me.  When- 
ever I  noticed  an  officer,  I  gave  an  elaborate  mili- 
tary salute,  and  with  such  an  air  that  the  officers, 
although  hesitating  at  first,  did  not  fail  to  return 
the  salute. 

After  reaching  the  main  road  they  turned  to  the 
right  towards  Vise,  probably  in  order  to  try  to  cross 
the  Meuse  near  Lixhe  and  then  proceed  to  Tongres 
along  the  above-mentioned  road.  It  would  not  be 
an  easy  undertaking,  for  the  forts  refused  to  keep 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  LIEGE  39 

silent,  and  already  many  a  wounded  man  was  car- 
ried on  a  comrade's  horse. 

Liege  now  loomed  up  in  the  distance,  and  the 
nearer  I  got,  the  more  civilians  I  met.  They  all 
wore  a  white  armlet,  and  walked  timidly  and  ner- 
vously by  the  side  of  the  road  or  street,  starting  at 
each  thunder-clap  of  the  guns.  Near  the  entrance 
to  the  town  a  small  crowd  stood  on  one  of  the  hills, 
looking  at  a  flying-machine  moving  from  fort  to 
fort  and  over  the  city,  obviously  investigating  the 
effect  of  the  German  siege-guns. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  entered  Liege; 
and  so  far  I  had  achieved  my  end. 


CHAPTER  II 
IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT 

A  GLORIOUS  summer  evening,  quite  refreshing  after 
the  exhausting  heat  of  the  day.  Nature  invited  to 
restfulness,  and  so  much  the  more  cruel  sounded  the 
incessant  thunder  of  the  guns,  which  also  boomed 
from  the  citadel.  As  soon  as  the  Germans  had 
taken  possession  of  this  old,  dilapidated  fortress 
they  proceeded  to  drag  their  guns  on  to  it,  and 
trained  them  on  the  surrounding  forts. 

The  streets  offered  the  same  aspect  as  those  at 
Vise.  From  each  house  floated  the  pitiful  little 
white  flag;  the  people  sat  together  on  their 
"stoeps,"  for  they  did  not  venture  out  in  the 
streets.  Everywhere  I  was  again  saluted  in  the 
same  cringingly  polite  manner,  and  eyed  with  sus- 
picion. 

Crowds  of  soldiers  moved  through  the  main 
streets,  revelling,  shouting,  screaming  in  their  mad 
frenzy  of  victors.  They  sat,  or  stood,  or  danced  in 
the  cafes,  and  the  electrical  pianos  and  organs  had 
been  started  again  uby  order.'1  Doors  and  windows 
were  opened  wide,  and  through  the  streets  sounded 
forth  the  song  "Deutschland  iiber  Alles"  (Germany 
before  all  other),  which  affected  the  inhabitants 

40 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT      41 

as  a  provocation  and  a  challenge.  Oh !  one  could 
see  so  clearly  how  thousands  of  citizens  suffered 
from  it,  how  they  felt  hurt  in  their  tenderest  senti- 
ments. Dull  and  depressed  they  stared  in  front  of 
them,  and  whenever  their  set  features  relaxed,  it 
was  a  scornful  grin. 

From  warehouses  and  from  shops  bales  of  corn, 
flour,  sugar,  and  other  goods  were  taken,  thrown  in 
heaps  and  then  placed  on  all  sorts  of  carts  and 
motors.  In  the  most  frequented  parts  military  bands 
had  taken  their  stand,  and  played  amidst  the  loud 
jubilation  of  the  soldiers. 

I  walked  about  a  little  longer  to  examine  the 
damage  done.  The  fine  Pont  des  Arches  was  for  the 
greater  part  destroyed  by  the  retreating  Belgians,  as 
well  as  the  Pont  Maghin.  This  is  a  pity,  especially 
as  regards  the  first-named  bridge,  so  famous  as  a 
work  of  art,  and  the  more  so  as  other  bridges  had 
not  been  touched  and  could  be  used  by  the  Germans. 
The  bombardment  did  not  damage  the  town  to 
any  great  extent,  but  it  was  remarkable  that  the 
largest  houses  had  suffered  most. 

Having  walked  some  thirty  miles  that  day,  I  be- 
gan to  feel  a  serious  need  for  rest.  But  when  I 
applied,  there  was  no  room  anywhere  in  the  hotels, 
and  where  there  was  room  they  told  me  the  contrary 
after  a  critical  glance  at  my  outfit. 

I  then  tried  to  find  the  nunnery  of  the  Saeurs  de 
la  Misericorde,  where  one  of  my  cousins  had  taken 
the  veil.  At  last,  in  the  Rue  des  Clarisses  I  found 
the  huge  door  of  the  monastery,  and  rang  the  bell. 
After  a  few  moments  a  small  trellised  shutter  in  the 
stout  door  was  opened  ajar,  and  a  tremulous  voice 


42       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

asked  in  French  what  I  wanted.  I  assumed  that 
it  was  one  of  the  nuns,  but  I  could  see  nothing 
through  that  narrow  jar. 

"Sister,"  I  said,  "I  am  a  cousin  of  Soeur  Eulalie, 
and  should  like  to  see  her,  to  know  how  she  is  and 
take  her  greetings  to  her  family  in  The  Nether- 
lands." 

"Soeur  Eulalie!  .  .  .  Soeur  Eulalie!  .  .  .  You 
.  .  .  you  .  .  .  are  a  ...  cousin  ...  of  ...  Soeur 
Eulalie?" 

The  terrified  little  sister  was  unable  to  stammer 
anything  more,  and  in  great  fear  suddenly  closed 
the  little  shutter  again. 

There  I  was  left !  After  waiting  a  while  I  rang 
the  bell  once  more,  and  once  more  the  little  shutter 
was  opened  in  the  same  timid  manner. 

uNow,  look  here,  sister,  I  am  a  cousin  of 
Soeur  .  .  ." 

"No,  no,  sir,  your  cousin  ...  is  not  here." 

Bang!  The  shutter  was  closed  again.  But  I  did 
not  give  it  up,  for  I  needed  the  sisters'  assistance 
to  find  a  shelter  somewhere.  Once  more  I  made 
the  bell  to  clang,  and  although  I  was  kept  waiting 
a  little  longer,  at  last  I  heard  voices  whispering 
behind  the  gate  and  once  more  something  appeared 
behind  the  trellis. 

"Sister,"  I  said  then,  "if  you  will  only  ask  Soeur 
Eulalie  to  come  to  this  gate  she  will  recognise  me, 
of  course?" 

"She  is  your  cousin,  you  say?" 

"Certainly,  sister.  Tell  her  that  Bart  of  Uncle 
Henry  is  here."  Again  I  was  switched  off,  but  the 
communication  was  this  time  restored  after  a  few 


IN  LIEGE  AXD  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT      43 

moments,  and  then  I  heard  a  joyful  and  surprised 
exclamation : 

"Oh!  Bart,  is  it  you ?" 

So  at  last  the  lock  of  the  heavy  door  screeched, 
and  I  was  admitted.  I  noticed  that  about  a  score 
of  sisters  had  gathered  behind  the  gate  and  were 
anxiously  discussing  the  "strange  occurrence/'  My 
meeting  with  Soeur  Eulalie,  however,  was  so  cordial 
that  the  good  nuns  lost  all  anxiety,  and  I  was  taken 
inside  accompanied  by  nearly  all  the  inmates  of  the 
convent. 

They  first  wanted  me  to  explain  what  put  it  into 
my  head  to  come  to  Liege,  and  how  I  had  managed 
to  get  there;  but  as  the  sisters  heard  of  my  empty 
stomach  and  my  thirty  miles,  they  would  not  listen 
to  another  word  before  I  had  put  myself  round  a 
good  square  meal. 

In  the  meantime  they  themselves  had  a  word  or 
two  to  say  about  the  fright  I  gave  them;  for  when 
I  stood  at  the  door  they  mistook  me  in  my  sporting 
habit  for  a  German  officer,  and  the  top  of  my  water- 
bottle  for  the  butt  of  a  revolver! 

The  work  of  these  sisters  is  the  education  of 
neglected  children,  and  they  spoke  about  their  fears 
during  the  last  momentous  days.  During  the 
bombardment  they  stayed  night  and  day  with  all 
those  little  ones  in  the  heavily  vaulted  cellars  of  the 
nunnery,  praying  all  the  time  before  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  that  had  been  removed  from  the  chapel 
and  taken  into  the  cellar  for  safety. 

They  constantly  heard  the  boom,  boom  of  the 
shells  exploding  near  by,  and  each  time  thought  that 
their  last  hour  had  struck.  The  gloomy  cellar 


44   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

depressed  them  still  more,  and  nobody  really  be- 
lieved that  there  was  any  chance  of  being  saved.  So 
the  little  sisters  prayed  on,  preparing  each  other  for 
death,  and  looking  for  the  approaching  end  in  quiet 
resignation. 

For  the  moment  all  they  knew  was  that  the  Ger- 
mans were  in  the  town,  as  none  of  them  yet  had 
ventured  outside  the  building.  At  present  their 
great  fear  was  that  Germans  might  be  billeted  on 
them.  .  .  .  Oh!  they  might  take  everything  if  only 
they  did  not  come  themselves. 

When  I  left  I  got  a  lot  of  addresses  of  relations 
in  The  Netherlands,  and  undertook  to  send  a  post- 
card to  each  of  these.  They  also  gave  me  an  intro- 
duction to  the  proprietor  of  an  hotel  whom  they 
knew,  in  which  they  asked  him  to  give  me  a  bed; 
and  thus  armed  I  succeeded  at  last.  It  was  high 
time  too,  for  at  nine  o'clock  everyone  had  to  be 
at  home.  In  the  hotel  everything  was  dark,  for 
there  was  no  gas  in  the  town.  At  last  I  could  lie 
down  on  my  bed,  and  had  a  good  rest,  although  I 
could  not  sleep  a  wink.  I  was  too  tired  and  had 
seen  and  experienced  too  much  that  day. 

The  next  morning  at  six  I  was  out  and  about 
again.  I  had  not  been  able  to  get  any  breakfast,  for 
the  people  themselves  had  nothing.  The  Germans 
had  called  at  all  the  hotels  and  shops  requisitioning 
everything  in  stock  to  feed  the  thousands  who  had 
invaded  Liege  like  so  many  locusts.  The  inhabitants 
practically  starved  during  those  days,  and  carefully 
saved  up  bits  of  bread  already  as  hard  as  bricks. 
It  was  a  good  thing  that  the  night  before  I  had 
eaten  something  at  the  nunnery,  for  although  at  a 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT     45 

shop  I  offered  first  one,  and  later  on  two  francs 
for  a  piece  of  bread,  I  could  not  get  any. 

All  the  forts  thundered  away  again,  and  the  guns 
of  the  Germans  were  also  busy  on  the  citadel  and 
the  various  surrounding  heights.  Already  early  in 
the  morning  a  terrible  and  suffocating  smoke  of  fire 
and  gunpowder  hovered  over  Liege.  The  smoke 
came  down  also  from  the  burning  villages,  like 
Bressoux,  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  near  Liege. 
The  flames  flared  up  from  the  houses  and  offered  a 
melancholy  sight. 

German  officers  told  me,  with  full  particulars, 
how  the  inhabitants  of  those  burning  villages  had 
offered  German  soldiers  poisoned  cocoa,  coffee,  and 
cigarettes,  for  which  crime  three  hundred  civilians 
had  been  shot  during  the  night  in  a  Liege  square. 

As  even  high  officers  told  me  those  things,  not 
without  some  emotion,  I  began  to  believe  them 
and  wrote  something  about  them  to  my  paper.  But 
what  was  made  clear  to  me  at  a  later  visit!  That 
there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  whole  story 
of  that  poisoning;  that  on  that  day  and  in  that 
square  no  shooting  had  taken  place;  that  a  couple 
of  days  before  the  population  had  been  ordered 
to  leave  their  houses  within  two  hours  without  any 
reason  being  given;  and  afterwards  several  houses 
had  simply  been  burned  down. 

The  Liege  people  were  already  up  and  about,  and 
wandered  through  the  streets  full  of  fear,  for  all 
sorts  of  rumours  were  heard — that  civilians  were 
murdered,  the  town  was  to  be  burned  down,  and 
that  a  start  would  be  made  very  soon.  As  they 
looked  at  those  burning  hamlets  yonder  they  be- 


46   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

lieved  the  rumours,  and  went  nearly  mad  for  fear; 
the  men  as  well  as  the  women  could  not  help  them- 
selves, and  wept.  During  the  night  various  posters 
were  stuck  on  the  walls  about  military  action.  The 
following  is  the  translation  of  one  of  these: — 

"The  municipal  Government  of  Liege  remind 
their  fellow-citizens,  and  all  staying  within  this  city, 
that  international  law  most  strictly  forbids  civilians 
to  commit  hostilities  against  the  German  soldiers 
occupying  the  country. 

"Every  attack  on  German  troops  by  others  than 
the  military  in  uniform  not  only  exposes  those  who 
may  be  guilty  to  be  shot  summarily,  but  will  also 
bring  terrible  consequences  on  leading  citizens  of 
Liege  now  detained  in  the  citadel  as  hostages  by  the 
Commander  of  the  German  troops.  These  hostages 
are:— 

"i.  The  Right  Rev.  Rutten,  bishop  of  Liege. 

"2.   Kleyer,  burgomaster  of  Liege. 

"3.  Gregoire,  permanent  deputy. 

"4.  Armand  Flechet,  senator. 

"5.  Van  Zuylen,  senator. 

"6.  Eduard  Peltzer,  senator. 

"7.   Colleaux,  senator. 

"8.  de  Ponthiere,  member  of  the  Town  Council. 

"9.  Van  Hoeyaerden,  member  of  the  Town  Coun- 
cil. 

uio.  Falloise,  alderman. 

"Bishop  Rutten  and  Mr.  Kleyer  are  allowed  to 
leave  the  citadel  for  the  present,  but  remain  at  the 
disposition  of  the  German  commanders  as  hostages. 

"We  beseech  all  residents  in  the  municipality  to 
guard  the  highest  interests  of  all  the  inhabitants  and 
of  those  who  are  hostages  of  the  German  Army,  and 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT      47 

not  to  commit  any  assault  on  the  soldiers  of  this 
army. 

"We  remind  the  citizens  that  by  order  of  the  gen- 
eral commanding  the  German  troops,  those  who  have 
arms  in  their  possession  must  deliver  them  imme- 
diately to  the  authorities  at  the  Provincial  Palace 
under  penalty  of  being  shot. 

"The  Acting  Burgomaster, 

UV.  RENAULT. 

"LlEGE, 

"August  8th." 

Fear  reigned  everywhere  in  the  bustling  streets; 
people  shouted  at  each  other  that  the  villages  burned 
already,  that  by  and  by  they  would  start  with  the 
town,  that  all  civilians  would  be  killed,  and  other 
terrible  things.  The  Germans  looked  at  all  this 
with  cynical  composure,  and  when  I  asked  some  of 
them  what  the  truth  was,  they  shrugged  their 
shoulders,  said  that  they  knew  nothing  about  it,  but 
that  it  might  be  true,  because  all  Belgians  were 
swine  who  shot  at  the  soldiers  or  poisoned  them. 
All  of  them  were  furious  because  the  Belgians  did 
not  allow  them  to  march  through  their  country. 

Fugitives  arrived  from  the  surrounding  villages, 
who  also  spoke  of  nothing  but  arson,  destruction, 
and  murder.  They  frightened  the  Liege  population 
still  more,  hundreds  of  whom  packed  up  some  of 
their  belongings  and  fled.  They  stumbled  and  fell 
across  the  barricades  in  the  streets,  blinded  as  they 
were  by  fear,  and  blinded  also  by  the  smoke  which 
settled  down  on  the  city  and  polluted  the  air. 

Matters  stood  so  in  Liege  on  the  morning  of 
August  Qth,  when  the  second  day  of  the  occupation 


48       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

by  the  Germans  had  not  yet  passed.  The  Belgian 
field  army,  which  had  bravely  defended  the  ground 
under  the  protection  of  the  forts,  and  inflicted 
heavy  losses  upon  the  Germans,  had  to  retreat  before 
their  superior  numbers,  leaving  the  further  defence 
of  the  Meuse  to  the  forts.  But  a  high  price  had 
been  paid  for  Liege,  for  the  German  losses  were 
immense,  and  on  the  ninth  they  were  still  busy 
burying  their  dead.  The  Germans  lost  many  men, 
especially  near  Lixhe  and  the  Forts  Bachon  and 
Fie  r  on. 

At  that  moment  the  possession  of  Liege  was  of 
little  advantage  to  the  Germans,  as  on  this  9th  of 
August  the  Belgians  still  held  all  the  forts.  This 
was  the  most  important  news  that  I  was  about  to 
send  to  The  Netherlands,  for  when  I  left  the 
Netherland  newspapers  had  published  the  news 
wired  from  Berlin  that  all  the  forts  had  fallen. 

But  the  Germans  were  efficient,  for  during  the 
night  they  had  laid  down  the  rails  on  which  in  the 
morning  they  transported  parts  of  the  heavy  ord- 
nance that  would  demolish  all  the  Belgian  defences. 

A  few  minutes  after  I  left  the  town  a  scene  drew 
my  attention.  A  lady  stood  there  with  a  little  girl; 
the  lady  seemed  to  urge  the  child  to  do  something 
to  which  it  objected.  She  refused  to  take  a  bag 
full  of  various  small  parcels  pressed  upon  her,  and 
clutched  hold  of  the  lady's  skirts.  I  wanted  to 
know  what  was  the  matter,  got  a  little  nearer,  and 
was  amazed  to  hear  them  both  speak  Netherland. 
I  could  not  help  asking  what  the  trouble  was  and 
whether  I  might  be  of  service. 

"No,  no,  sir,"  the  lady  said.     "Oh,  oh,  it  is  so 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT      49 

terrible!  By  and  by  the  Germans  will  burn  Liege 
and  kill  us  all.  She  is  the  little  daughter  of  my 
brother  at  Maastricht,  and  came  to  visit  us  a  few 
days  before  war  broke  out,  but  now  she  will  be 
killed  too,  for  she  refuses  to  go  away." 

"But,  madame,  you  do  not  mean  to  send  that 
child  to  Maastricht  by  itself?" 

"It  must  be  done,  surely,  it  must  be  done !  That 
is  her  only  chance  of  escape,  and  if  she  stops  here 
she  will  be  killed  with  the  rest  of  us.  Oh!  .  .  . 
oh!  .  .  ." 

"But  really,  madame,  that  is  only  senseless  gossip 
of  the  people.  You  need  not  be  afraid,  the  Germans 
will  not  be  so  cruel  as  all  that!" 

"Not?  Oh!  they  are  sure  to  do  it.  All  the 
villages  are  burning  already.  The  smoke  suffocates 
us  here.  In  Bressoux  there  is  not  a  house  left 
standing,  and  in  other  villages  all  civilians  have  been 
killed,  men,  women,  and  children.  Not  even  the 
tiniest  babies  escaped.  .  .  .  Oh!  .  .  .  and  now  it 
is  Liege's  turn!" 

I  knew  about  Bressoux.  I  had  seen  the  flames 
burst  out  from  many  houses,  and  I  had  reliable 
information  also  from  other  villages  about  the 
slaughter  that  took  place  there,  although  this  lady 
of  course  exaggerated  when  she  said  that  "not  even 
the  tiniest  babies  escaped." 

Need  I  say  that  I  did  all  I  could  to  make  the 
woman  a  little  more  reasonable,  and  make  her  un- 
derstand that  it  would  not  do  to  let  a  child  of  ten 
walk  by  itself  from  Liege  to  Maastricht,  and  least 
of  all  in  these  dire  times.  But  I  could  not  make 
her  see  this,  and  this  instance  proves  all  the  more, 


50   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

perhaps,  how  upset  the  inhabitants  of  Liege  were 
that  morning;  they  were  nearly  out  of  their  senses 
for  fear. 

Of  course  I  did  not  allow  the  little  girl  to  go  by 
herself,  but  took  her  with  me.  It  was  a  wearying 
expedition  in  the  excessive  heat  of  that  day.  Very 
soon  the  child  was  no  longer  able  to  carry  her  small 
belongings,  and,  though  already  sufficiently  loaded 
myself,  I  had  to  take  her  bundle  as  well.  She  was 
scarcely  able  to  walk  more  than  a  thousand  yards  at 
a  stretch,  and  had  then  to  sit  down  on  the  grass  by 
the  roadside  and  rest.  She  did  not  quite  under- 
stand what  was  going  on,  but  she  had  an  undefined 
feeling  of  fear  on  that  long,  deserted  road,  where 
we  did  not  meet  anybody  except  some  well-hidden 
or  stealthily  moving  German  patrols  who  suddenly 
pointed  their  rifles  at  us. 

After  the  explanations  required  of  us  they  allowed 
us  to  go  on.  The  incessant  roar  of  the  guns  made 
the  girl  tremble  for  fear,  and  the  stinging  smoke 
made  her  cough.  After  much  trouble  we  got  at 
last  as  far  as  Herstal,  where  I  had  promised  her  a 
short  rest. 

This  fine  large  village,  actually  a  suburb  of  Liege, 
was  quite  deserted,  not  a  living  being  was  to  be 
seen.  I  entered  shops  and  cafes,  called  at  the  top 
of  my  voice,  but  got  no  reply  anywhere.  I  was 
inclined  to  believe  that  everybody  had  fled.  And 
they  would  have  been  quite  right  too,  for  huge 
columns  of  smoke  rose  up  from  the  heights  around 
the  place,  four  or  five  in  a  row,  after  a  booming  and 
rolling  peal  like  thunder  had  seemed  to  rend  the  sky. 

The  German  artillery  had  taken  up  their  positions 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT     51 

here,  and  bombarded  the  forts  in  their  immediate 
neighbourhood.  These  did  not  fail  to  answer,  and 
rained  shells  on  the  enemy's  batteries.  One  heard 
their  hissing,  which  came  nearer  and  nearer,  until 
they  fell  on  the  slopes  or  the  tops  of  the  hills  and 
burst  with  a  terrific  explosion.  Many  a  time  we 
saw  this  happen  only  a  few  hundred  yards  away. 
Then  the  air  trembled,  and  I  felt  as  if  my  legs  were 
blown  from  underneath  me.  Broken  windows  too 
fell  clattering  on  the  ustoeps." 

We  entered  another  cafe,  and  once  more  I  shouted 
for  the  inhabitants  at  the  top  of  my  voice.  At  last 
I  heard  a  feeble  sound  somewhere  in  the  hall,  which 
I  entered,  but  as  I  saw  no  one  there,  I  called  out 
once  more.  Then  I  heard  distinctly,  and  knew 
whence  the  answer  came.  I  opened  a  door,  behind 
which  stairs  led  to  the  cellar,  and  from  there  I  was 
at  last  able  to  speak  to  some  of  the  Herstal  people. 
I  heard  that  all  of  them  stayed  in  their  cellars  for 
fear  of  the  bombardment. 

My  request  to  allow  the  child  to  stay  at  the  cafe 
for  half  an  hour  was  granted,  and  I  went  through 
the  village  towards  the  place  whence  the  German 
batteries  sent  their  destructive  fire.  At  last  I  got 
as  far  as  the  top  of  a  hill,  from  which  I  could  see 
two  forts  shrouded  in  a  cloud  of  smoke,  which  was 
also  the  case  with  the  German  batteries. 

I  could  not  stop  there  long,  for  I  was  actually 
within  range.  I  saw  a  number  of  shells  explode  and 
twice  hit  a  farmhouse,  which  was  destroyed  for  the 
greater  part.  So  I  returned  as  quickly  as  possible 
to  my  little  protegee,  and  went  on  with  her,  follow- 


52       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

ing  the  road  as  far  as  the  canal,  and  then  along  this 
to  Maastricht. 

On  one  of  the  hills,  slightly  to  the  south  of 
Haccourt,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Meuse  and  the 
canal,  a  German  battery  was  firing  at  Fort  Pontisse. 
The  gunners  there  were  quite  kind,  and  they  felt 
no  fear  at  all,  for  although  they  shelled  the  fort 
continuously,  it  seemed  that  nothing  was  done  by 
way  of  reply  to  their  fire.  The  shells  from  the  fort 
flew  hissing  over  our  heads,  in  the  direction  of 
Lixhe,  which  proved  that  Fort  Pontisse  was  still 
chiefly  busy  with  the  pontoon-bridge  at  that  place. 

Until  now  we  had  walked  along  the  right  bank 
of  the  canal,  until  we  crossed  one  of  the  many 
bridges.  The  little  girl  was  well-nigh  exhausted; 
from  time  to  time  I  gave  her  a  rest,  and  then  again 
I  carried  her  a  part  of  the  way. 

A  good  many  soldiers  were  lying  round  about 
the  high  cement  factory  of  Haccourt.  The  factory 
itself  seemed  to  be  used  as  a  station  for  observations, 
for  suddenly  a  voice  roared  from  a  top  window: 
"Stop  those  people!"  And  we  were  stopped  and 
taken  to  a  small  table  where  three  officers  were 
sitting  drinking  wine.  The  colonel  asked  for  my 
papers,  which  he  did  not  consider  sufficient,  as  I 
had  no  passport  from  some  German  military 
authority.  So  I  drew  out  again  the  bridge-com- 
mander's scrap  of  paper  which  said  that  I  was  per- 
mitted to  go  from  Lixhe  to  Vise. 

uls  this  then  the  road  to  Vise?" 

"No,  sir,  I  am  returning  from  there." 

"Where  then  is  Vise?" 

"That  way,  sir!" 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT     53 

"That  way?     But  how  did  you  get  here  then?" 

"You  see,  sir,  the  bridge  across  the  Meuse  has 
been  destroyed,  and  in  order  to  get  back  I  had  to 
walk  first  towards  .  .  .  towards  .  .  .  Liege  .  .  . 
and  .  .  .  and  .  .  .  and  then  they  ferried  me  over 
somewhere  down  there,  and  told  me  that  I  had  to 
go  along  the  canal  to  get  to  Maastricht." 

"Is  that  so?  Well,  it  is  not  very  clear!  And 
that  little  girl?" 

"That  is  a  Netherland  girl,  sir,  who  was  staying 
at  her  aunt's  at  Liege  ...  I  mean  to  say  at  Vise, 
and  whom  I  take  now  with  me  to  Maastricht." 

The  officer  went  on  shaking  his  head  at  my  an- 
swers, and  I  felt  as  if  this  might  be  the  end  of  my 
fine  little  adventure.  But  I  could  not  tell  him  that 
I  had  gone  to  Liege  with  that  permit  for  Vise ! 

At  Fort  Pontisse  or  Lierce  they  seemed  to  have 
noticed  that  the  factory  was  a  station  for  observa- 
tion. As  the  officer  was  still  thinking  about  my  case, 
one  of  those  infernal  monster  shells  crashed  down 
among  a  group  of  soldiers,  only  some  yards  away. 
Those  who  were  not  hit  ran  away,  but  they  came 
back  soon,  and  took  up  seven  or  eight  comrades, 
whom  they  carried  into  the  factory.  I  shuddered 
when  I  saw  what  had  happened,  and  through  the 
shock  the  sight  gave  me  I  involuntarily  jerked  my 
arms. 

"Stand  still!"  the  officer  thundered. 

He  looked  for  a  moment  at  the  spot  where  the 
deaths  happened,  from  which  the  victims  were  car- 
ried away,  and  then  suddenly  asked  in  a  kinder  tone 
of  voice: 


54       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"Is  there  any  further  news  about  the  war  in  The 
Netherlands?" 

I  saw  that  I  must  take  advantage  of  his  changed 
mood  and  his  curiosity,  and  I  hastened  to  reply : 

"Yes,  that  the  French  are  advancing  towards 
Liege,  and  that  the  British  have  landed  in  Belgium." 

"What?" 

"It  is  as  I  tell  you!" 

"But  are  you  sure?  Where  are  the  French  now, 
and  where  did  the  British  land?" 

"Well,  all  the  Netherland  papers  have  extensive 
official  reports  about  it.  The  French  are  now  at 
Namur  and  the  British  landed  troops  at  Ostend.  .  .  ." 

"Wait!  wait!  wait!" 

Quickly  he  summoned  an  orderly  and  gave  some 
orders,  and  a  few  minutes  later  four  more  officers 
drew  round  the  table,  on  which  a  large  map  of 
Belgium  was  displayed.  Their  tone  became  at  once 
charmingly  sweet  and  kind,  and  a  soldier  offered 
me  some  lemonade  from  small  bottles  kept  cool  in 
a  basin  filled  with  cold  water. 

I  did  not  feel  very  comfortable  after  what  had 
happened  to  those  soldiers  who  lost  their  lives  so 
cruelly  sudden,  or  in  any  case  had  been  seriously 
wounded,  while  the  officers  took  little  notice 
of  them.  But  it  was  desirable  to  behave  as  dis- 
creetly as  possible,  and  so  to  get  a  permit  to 
Maastricht. 

I  had  to  repeat  everything  about  the  advance 
of  the  French  and  the  landing  of  the  British,  whilst 
they  followed  my  story  on  the  map.  But  I  was 
soon  in  a  cold  sweat,  for  of  course  I  knew  practically 
nothing,  neither  of  the  French  nor  of  the  British, 


IN  LIEGE  AND  BACK  TO  MAASTRICHT     55 

and  each  time  when  one  of  the  officers  pressed  for 
details  I  was  in  mortal  fear  that  I  might  contradict 
myself.  But  I  stuck  to  my  guns  until  the  end,  and 
assured  them  that  the  French  had  crossed  the  Belgian 
frontier  near  Givet,  and  were  now  near  Namur, 
whereas  the  British,  disembarking  at  Ostend,  had 
advanced  as  far  as  Ghent. 

As  soon  as  they  had  got  all  the  information  they 
required,  the  commanding  officer  ordered  a  patrol 
of  cyclists  of  six  men  to  leave  their  kit  and  rifles 
behind,  but  to  take  a  Browning,  and  deliver  a  rapidly 
written  letter  at  Liege. 

They  were  now  very  friendly,  and  spoke  even 
with  great  kindliness  about  the  Netherlander  in 
general.  They  let  me  proceed  also  on  my  way  to 
Maastricht,  giving  me  their  best  wishes. 

My  little  protegee  was,  however,  soon  very  tired 
and  complained  that  her  feet  ached.  I  had  to  carry 
her  for  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  before  we  arrived 
at  the  Netherland  Custom  House,  where  I  left  her 
behind,  as  she  was  now  safe.  I  went  on  to  Maas- 
tricht alone,  wired  to  my  paper,  and  then  saw  the 
worried,  but  soon  extremely  happy  parents  of  the 
little  girl.  They  went  at  once  to  the  Netherland 
frontier  to  take  their  child  home. 

I  had  succeeded.  I  had  been  in  Liege,  the  first 
foreign  journalist  who  got  there  after  her  fall,  and 
was  able  to  contradict  the  numerous  reports  about 
the  conquest  of  the  forts  which  had  made  the  round 
of  the  newspapers  for  several  days. 


CHAPTER  III 
ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE 

DURING  the  fights  round  the  forts  I  made  a  good 
many  tours  and  was  able  to  contradict  several 
German  reports  about  alleged  successes.  The  atrosi- 
ties  in  the  villages  around  Liege  did  not  cease, 
and  constantly  fresh  crowds  of  refugees  came  to 
Maastricht. 

In  order  to  examine  once  more  the  state  of  affairs 
around  Liege,  I  decided  to  pay  another  visit  to  that 
town. 

Starting  in  the  early  morning  of  August  I5th, 
I  arrived  at  Vise  without  much  trouble,  after  having 
been  led  across  the  Lixhe  bridge  once  more.  Since 
my  first  visit  the  bridge  had  been  destroyed  three 
times  over,  and  this  new  one  seemed  very  weak. 
As  I  stood  there  looking  at  it,  a  motor  lorry  had  to 
cross  it,  and  the  bridge  gave  way  near  the  bank. 
Another  motor  had  then  to  pull  the  lorry  up  to 
the  top  of  the  bank,  and  this  made  the  bridge  give 
way  still  further. 

For  the  rest  the  transports  were  not  much 
troubled  now,  for  obviously  the  bridge  was  no 
longer  the  objective  of  the  Belgian  guns.  At  Vise 
I  was  even  told  that  Fort  Pontisse  had  just  been 

56 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  57 

taken  and  only  Lierce  could  harass  the  troops,  who, 
after  crossing  the  bridge,  advanced  towards  Ton- 
geren. 

Many  things  had  happened  at  Vise  since  my  first 
visit.  Under  the  pretext  that  the  church  spire 
could  indicate  to  Fort  Pontisse  in  which  direction 
to  shoot,  parafin  had  been  poured  over  church  and 
spire  and  fire  set  to  them.  It  was  a  venerable 
ancient  structure,  built  ten  centuries  ago,  the  fine 
stained  windows  of  which  were  well  known. 

The  inhabitants  looked  upon  the  church  as  a 
special  sanctuary,  as  the  bones  of  St.  Hadelin  were 
kept  there.  Before  the  fire  these  relics  had  been 
removed  to  the  vicarage  secretly,  and  then  to  St. 
Hadelin  College,  the  only  large  building  that  es- 
caped the  general  destruction  next  day. 

Immediately  after  the  church  was  set  on  fire,  the 
dean  was  arrested,  as  well  as  the  burgomaster  and 
five  reverend  sisters.  These  last-mentioned  had 
been  in  prison  a  fortnight,  when  at  last  the  Ger- 
mans discovered  that  the  little  sisters  were  of  Ger- 
man nationality.  The  Very  Reverend  Dean  had 
been  treated  very  badly  during  his  captivity. 

There  was  dire  want  in  the  little  town,  for  the 
Germans  had  been  requisitioning  everything  until 
there  was  nothing  left.  And  as  during  the  first  days 
of  the  war  all  traffic  had  been  stopped,  it  was  im- 
possible to  bring  in  fresh  supplies.  The  pieces  of 
bread  the  people  still  had  were  like  bricks,  and 
several  days  old;  and  yet  I  could  not  get  any  of  it. 

But  the  German  troops  had  ample  provisions  for 
themselves,  and  as  an  officer  noticed  that  I  went  all 
over  the  town  to  find  some  food  in  one  of  the 


58       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

restaurants,  he  offered  me,  the  "friendly"  Nether- 
lander, something  to  eat  at  the  Guard  House.  This 
I  declined,  however,  for  I  could  not  have  enjoyed 
bread  taken  from  the  starving  population. 

There  was  still  a  real  reign  of  terror,  and  con- 
stantly the  town-crier's  bell  was  heard  in  the  streets, 
informing  the  people  that  the  victors  required 
something  or  other.  Only  a  few  days  ago  it  was 
announced  that  all  bicycles  had  to  be  delivered  at 
the  bridge  within  twenty-four  hours.  Any  person 
who  after  that  time  was  found  in  possession  of  such 
a  vehicle  would  be  shot,  and  his  house  burned  down. 
With  similar  threats  all  arms  were  requisitioned, 
but  with  the  explicit  addition  that  this  referred  also 
to  old,  and  broken  arms,  or  those  which  had  been 
taken  to  pieces.  Eatables  and  drinkables  were  also 
constantly  claimed  under  threats  of  arson. 

From  Vise  I  went  again  across  the  Meuse  to  the 
road  along  the  canal.  Nearing  Haccourt,  I  noticed 
that  Fort  Pontisse  was  actually  silent,  but  Lierce 
still  in  full  action.  The  Germans  had  mounted 
long-range  guns  on  the  hills  between  Lancey  and 
Haccourt,  whence  they  could  place  Fort  Lierce  un- 
der fire.  A  German  officer,  after  some  coaxing, 
allowed  me  to  witness  the  operations  for  a  short 
time.  I  found  a  place  near  some  heavy  guns,  and 
sat  down  amid  some  underwood.  The  shooting 
from  Lierce  was  very  fierce,  but  only  by  the  plumes 
of  smoke  could  I  tell  whereabouts  the  fort  might  be. 
The  shells  came  down  near  us,  but  during  the  half 
hour  of  my  stop  not  one  made  a  hit.  They  all  fell 
short  of  us. 

It  was  a  cruel  sight.     At  a  tolerably  quick  pace 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  59 

undreds  of  soldiers  marched  out  in  the  direction 
of  the  fort,  dragging  light  ordnance  with  them.  One 
of  the  officers  explained  to  me  that  the  big  guns 
could  not  yet  operate  here ;  and  now  a  division  of 
foot-artillery  was  commanded  to  occupy  a  small  hill 
near  the  fort.  The  big  guns  had  to  support  them 
on  the  way.  The  guns  roared  as  if  all  the  thunder- 
bolts of  heaven  had  been  flung  into  space.  The 
smoke  of  the  powder  poisoned  the  air  and  made 
me  cough.  Gradually  my  surroundings  were  en- 
veloped in  a  thin  haze,  which  became  denser  and 
more  suffocating  the  longer  the  guns  roared.  And 
at  last  those  hundreds  of  men,  dragging  their  guns 
along  the  byways,  looked  merely  like  shades. 

For  quite  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  seemed  to 
proceed  successfully,  as  obviously  not  one  shell  ex- 
ploded in  their  neighbourhood.  But  suddenly  all 
along  their  line  dark  masses  several  yards  high 
rose  up.  This  was  the  effect  of  numerous  exceed- 
ingly well-aimed  shells  on  the  dry,  loose  sand.  Soon 
the  men  were  surrounded  by  those  thick  clouds  of 
dust,  and  only  during  the  first  few  minutes  I  saw 
here  and  there  one  of  those  shades  in  human  form 
tumble  down,  evidently  hit  by  one  of  the  projectiles. 
Then  I  saw  nothing  for  a  long  while,  excepting  the 
thick  wall  of  dust,  which  seemed  to  remain  standing 
up,  for  constantly  the  shells  threw  up  anew  the  earth 
that  had  only  just  fallen  down. 

The  dust-wall  extended  gradually  as  the  distance 
grew  covered  by  the  Germans  in  their  flight  to 
their  former  positions.  But  at  last  we  saw  the  first 
men  emerge  in  complete  disorder  from  that  driving 
cloud.  Some  on  the  right,  others  on  the  left,  here 


60       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and  there  also  small  groups  which  courageously 
dragged  their  guns  with  them,  as  they  saved  them- 
selves from  that  infernal  downpour. 

Five  minutes  later  the  smoke  had  disappeared 
almost,  and  I  was  able  to  see  what  had  happened 
on  the  field  in  front  of  me.  Terrible !  On  all  sides 
lay  scattered  the  lads,  who  but  a  short  time  ago 
started  with  so  much  enthusiasm,  and  here  and 
there  a  gun  knocked  over,  five,  six  corpses  lying 
around  it. 

In  front  of  me,  behind  me,  on  all  sides,  the  guns 
boomed,  clouds  of  dust  and  smoke  filled  the  air, 
making  it  impossible  to  see  much,  which  made  the 
awe  and  terror  endurable;  but  after  the  air  became 
clear  again,  and  the  sun  shed  glowing  light  on  the 
beautiful  fields,  it  was  terrible  to  think  that  all 
those  dots  in  the  plain  were  the  bodies  of  young 
men,  cruelly  crushed  by  the  infernal  products  of 
human  ingenuity.  It  was  agony  to  see  here  and 
there  a  body  rising  up,  merely  to  fall  down  again 
immediately,  or  an  arm  waving  as  if  invoking  help. 

And  by  my  side  stood  officers  and  soldiers  raging 
and  cursing.  To  them  came  the  returning  men, 
blood  running  along  their  faces  from  insignificant 
wounds,  and  they  bawled  and  bellowed,  and  thun- 
dered with  a  thousand  curses  that  they  wanted  to  go 
back  and  try  again.  How  ghastly  they  rolled  their 
eyes  in  frenzied  excitement!  Some  pointing  at  me 
asked  the  officer  who  I  was,  and  he  explained. 
Then  I  had  to  listen  to  endless  imprecations  against 
the  civilian  population  of  Belgium,  who,  according 
to  them,  consisted  entirely  of  francs-tireurs,  who 
all  of  them  deserved  to  be  shot,  and  to  have  their 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  61 

houses  burned  down.  To  repeat  the  coarse  words 
which  they  sputtered  out  in  their  rage  would  only 
cause  disgust. 

The  officer  assured  me  that  a  new  effort  would  be 
made  soon,  as  they  were  commanded  to  take  Pon- 
tisse  and  Lierce  at  any  price,  the  seventh  and  ninth 
regiment  of  foot-artillery  of  Cologne  being  selected 
for  the  purpose. 

I  did  not  want  to  witness  that  second  attack,  and, 
after  thanking  the  officer,  resumed  my  journey  along 
the  canal-road  to  Liege. 

Near  Herstal  the  Germans  were  crossing  by  the 
large  bridge,  which  the  Belgians  had  preserved  to 
their  own  disadvantage. 

In  Liege  things  were  no  longer  so  depressing  as  at 
the  time  of  my  first  visit.  There  was  some  traffic 
in  the  streets,  and  by  order  of  the  German  authori- 
ties the  shops  had  been  reopened. 

In  a  meadow  east  of  the  city  I  saw  three  big  guns 
mounted,  the  biggest  I  had  seen  as  yet.  They  kept 
up  a  continuous  and  powerful  cannonade  at  the 
forts  near  the  town,  that  had  not  yet  been  taken. 
There  were  three  of  them  left,  of  which  Loncin 
was  the  most  important. 

A  little  farther  away  they  were  still  busy  with 
Lierce,  but  excepting  these  four,  all  the  forts  were 
now  taken  by  the  Germans.  I  stood  there  for  a 
moment,  gazing  at  these  cannon,  the  presence  of 
which  was  clearly  unknown  to  the  Belgians,  for  their 
artillery  took  no  notice  of  them.  Only  the  day 
before  these  guns  had  started  shelling  the  forts,  and 
on  the  evening  of  August  I5th  they  had  silenced  two 
of  them ;  but  Loncin  kept  up  the  fight. 


62       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

During  the  evening  I  was  granted  an  audience  by 
the  Right  Reverend  Monseigneur  Rutten,  Bishop  of 
Liege.  The  venerable,  aged  prelate  received  me 
very  affably,  but  he  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
terrible  fate  that  had  overwhelmed  his  poor  native 
country.  He  himself  had  suffered  exceedingly  bad 
treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Germans.  First  he 
and  the  other  hostages  were  imprisoned  in  the 
citadel,  where  he  was  locked  up  in  a  small  shanty, 
with  a  leaking  roof,  so  that  the  torrential  rain  entered 
it  freely.  Wet  and  cold,  the  Bishop  passed  that  day 
without  being  offered  any  food,  and,  as  stated  above, 
was  at  last  allowed  to  go  home. 

He  told  me  a  good  many  other  instances  of  ill- 
treatment,  but  as  I  gave  him  my  word  of  honour 
not  to  mention  them,  my  mouth  is  sealed.  He  him- 
self was  visited  a  few  days  later  by  the  German 
commanding  general,  who  offered  his  apologies. 

That  same  evening  many  more  houses  were  burned 
down,  more  particularly  in  Outre-Meuse,  although 
no  valid  reason  was  given  for  that. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  August  i6th,  I  was  already 
about  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  soon  wit- 
nessed some  historical  shots.  In  the  park  on  one 
of  the  boulevards  the  Germans  had  been  digging 
for  two  days,  and  prepared  a  firm  foundation  upon 
which  big  guns  might  be  mounted.  I  saw  one  of 
these  guns  that  morning,  and  at  about  half-past  five 
three  shots  were  fired  from  it  at  short  intervals, 
by  which  Fort  Loncin  was  completely  destroyed,  as 
was  indicated  by  the  terrific  explosions  which  fol- 
lowed the  third  shot.  After  these  shots  I  was  quite 
benumbed  for  several  minutes;  in  all  the  streets 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  63 

of  Liege  they  caused  the  greatest  commotion,  which 
became  all  the  greater  because  large  numbers  of 
cavalry  happened  to  ride  through  the  town,  and  all 
the  horses  started  rearing. 

Was  the  gun  I  had  seen  there  one  of  the  notorious 
forty-two  centimetre  monsters?  I  should  not  like 
to  wager  my  head  in  affirming  that.  It  was  an  in- 
ordinately unwieldy  and  heavy  piece  of  ordnance, 
but  during  the  first  days  of  the  war  nothing  or  very 
little  had  yet  been  said  or  written  about  these  forty- 
two's,  and  I  did  not  pay  sufficient  attention  to  the 
one  I  saw.  Only  after  the  fall  of  Loncin  did 
all  those  articles  about  the  forty-two's  appear 
in  the  papers,  and  the  Germans  certainly  asserted 
that  they  destroyed  Loncin  by  means  of  such  a 
cannon. 

But  it  is  equally  certain  that  at  Liege  as  well  as 
at  Namur  and  Antwerp  the  Austrian  thirty-point- 
five  mortars  were  used,  siege-guns  chiefly,  and  these 
were  taken  by  the  German  soldiers  for  forty-two's. 
These  Austrian  mortars  were  equally  misnamed  in 
German,  French,  and  even  Netherland  illustrated 
papers. 

However,  the  effect  of  these  Austrian  mortars 
was  terrible  enough.  I  could  not  form  a  correct 
opinion  about  them  by  the  sound  of  the  shot;  and 
only  those  who  were  in  the  fort  that  was  hit  were 
able  to  realise  the  terrific  results.  Hence  the 
interest  of  the  report  by  an  officer,  who  escaped 
after  having  been  made  a  prisoner  at  Loncin.  He 
told  my  colleague  of  De  Tijd  at  Antwerp  about  it. 
After  having  related  how,  during  nearly  ten  days, 
the  fort  had  been  defended  heroically  and  reso- 


64       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

lutely,  he  gave  the  following  description  of  the  final 
struggle : — 

"On  August  1 4th,  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon, the  expected  storm  burst;  for  twenty-five 
hours  the  invisible  siege-guns  poured  their  torrent 
of  projectiles  on  the  fort.  Flares  of  fire  and  dense 
clouds  of  smoke  belched  through  the  crevices.  As 
the  enemy's  batteries  could  not  be  located,  their  fire 
could  not  be  answered.  The  artillerists  of  the  gar- 
rison were  then  taken  to  the  spacious  chief  gallery, 
which  offered  a  safe  refuge  under  its  vault,  about 
two  and  a  half  to  three  yards  thick.  Outside  the 
sentries  were  watching.  In  the  parts  near  the  en- 
trance it  was  unendurable;  the  heavy  projectiles  from 
the  guns  mounted  in  the  town  had  nibbled  away  the 
outer  wall,  only  a  yard  and  a  half  thick.  There 
were  as  yet  no  casualties  among  the  garrison ;  calmly 
they  waited  for  the  infernal  tempest  to  subside  and 
the  enemy  to  storm  the  fort,  for  they  had  sworn  to 
repulse  the  assault. 

"General  Leman,  Commander  Naessens,  and  all 
the  officers  were  splendid  in  their  imperturbable  cour- 
age. They  found  the  words  that  went  straight  to 
the  hearts  of  their  men.  These  fellows  looked  more 
like  bronze  statues  than  human  beings.  The  pro- 
jectiles hammered  at  the  walls  and  smashed  huge 
pieces,  penetrating  into  the  parts  near  the  entrance. 
The  rest  of  the  fort  withstood  splendidly  the  hurri- 
cane of  hostile  steel  and  fire.  During  the  night  the 
bombardment  stopped,  and  then  the  commanding 
officer  went  to  inspect  the  cupolas. 

"The  larger  ones  had  suffered  little;  but  the  ma- 
jority were  jammed  by  fragments  of  concrete  and 
steel,  which  struck  between  the  armour  and  the  front- 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  65 

armour.  The  small  quick-fire  cupolas  had  not  been 
touched  by  any  projectile.  'It  is  all  right,'  he  said, 
'we  shall  be  able  to  repulse  the  enemy's  attack.' 

"At  dawn  the  bombardment  started  again,  but 
only  the  front  was  seriously  damaged.  The  garrison 
stood  as  firm  as  a  rock.  Here  and  there  the  be- 
ginnings of  a  fire  were  soon  extinguished. 

"Then  a  frightful  thing  happened.  The  men  had 
finished  breakfast,  some  were  sleeping  quietly  in 
spite  of  the  thundering  noise.  The  assault  was  ex- 
pected to  commence  during  the  next  night. 

"And  then  the  disaster  followed  suddenly.  At 
about  five  o'clock  a  tremendous  explosion  shook  the 
fort  to  the  foundations;  the  powder-magazine  had 
caught  fire.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  appal- 
ling results  of  that  explosion;  the  entire  middle-part 
of  the  fort  collapsed  in  a  stupendous  cloud  of  flames, 
smoke  and  dust;  it  was  an  awful  destruction,  an  im- 
mense avalanche  of  masses  of  concrete,  fragments 
of  armour,  which  in  their  fall  crushed  to  death  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  garrison.  From  this  fantastical, 
confused  mass,  overwhelming  clouds  of  suffocating 
smoke  escaped  through  some  crevices  and  holes. 

"After  this  infernal  rumble,  deadly  silence  fol- 
lowed, interrupted  only  by  the  groans  of  the 
wounded.  The  German  artillery  ceased  to  fire,  and 
from  all  sides  their  infantry  came  rushing  on,  their 
faces  expressing  the  terror  caused  by  such  great 
calamities.  They  were  no  longer  soldiers  longing  to 
destroy,  but  human  beings  hurrying  to  go  to  the 
assistance  of  other  human  beings. 

"German  sappers  and  other  military  men  cleared 
away  the  dead  and  the  wounded.  They  also  dis- 
covered General  Leman,  whose  orderlies,  who  had 
a  miraculous  escape  from  death,  were  already  busy 
in  rescuing  him  from  underneath  the  ruins. 


66       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"They  were  all  unrecognisable,  their  faces  were 
black  from  smoke,  their  uniforms  in  rags,  their  hands 
covered  with  blood.  The  general  was  put  on  a 
stretcher,  and  carried  outside  the  fort  across  the 
heaps  of  obstacles;  there  he  was  attended  to  by  a 
surgeon.  He  had  lost  consciousness.  As  soon  as  he 
recovered  it,  he  pressed  the  hands  of  two  Belgian 
officers.  'It  is  all  over;  there  is  nothing  left  to  de- 
fend. But  we  did  our  utmost  courageously/ 

"A  German  officer  came  nearer,  and,  uncovering 
his  head,  said  in  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion: 
'General,  what  you  performed  is  admirable !'  Evi- 
dently these  words  slightly  comforted  the  defender 
of  Liege,  who  before  long  was  removed  by  motor- 
car to  an  ambulance  in  the  town." 

Such  was  the  end  of  Fort  Loncin,  and  by  its  fall 
the  last  obstacle  was  removed  by  which  the  undis- 
turbed progress  of  the  German  armies  might  have 
been  prevented.  The  brave  defenders  of  Loncin 
did  not  surrender,  but  stood  their  gound  until  they 
were  buried  under  the  ruins  of  their  own  defences. 
According  to  information  from  another  source, 
Lierce  had  succumbed  the  night  before. 

Early  next  morning  I  walked  through  the  streets 
of  Liege,  dull  and  depressed,  deploring  the  fact 
that  such  clumsy,  heavy  iron  monsters  had  been 
able  to  crush  this  stout  defence  and  such  men.  As 
I  reached  the  Place  du  Marche,  there  arrived  three 
hundred  disarmed  Belgian  warriors,  escorted  by  a 
strong  German  force.  They  stopped  in  the  square, 
and  soon  hundreds  of  the  people  of  Liege  crowded 
around  them.  They  were  the  defenders  of  Fort 
Pontisse. 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  67 

Men  and  women  tried  to  break  through  the  Ger- 
man cordon,  but  were  repulsed  roughly.  So  they 
threw  fruit,  cigars,  and  cigarettes  at  them.  The 
lads  looked  gratefully  at  their  compatriots,  but  for 
the  rest  stared  in  front  of  them  in  dismal  depression. 
Once  and  again  a  name  was  called,  as  a  relative  or 
friend  was  recognised.  Some  shed  tears. 

Whether  neutral  or  foreigner,  no  one  could  help 
being  deeply  moved.  Men  and  women,  boys  and 
girls,  pressed  once  more  through  the  German  fence, 
just  to  shake  hands  with  someone  they  had  recog- 
nised. No  wailing  followed,  but  when  hands  were 
gripped,  with  a  suppressed  sob,  they  said: 

"Bear  up,  lad!  Keep  courage;  it  will  soon  be 
different." 

And  the  answer  was: 

uWe  did  our  utmost  to  the  last,  but  it  was  im- 
possible to  go  on." 

I  could  not  help  myself,  but  also  pressed  through 
the  Germans,  as  I  wanted  to  exchange  a  few  words 
with  the  Belgians.  This  was  possible  for  a  very 
few  moments  only,  in  which  they  told  me  that  they 
had  been  firing  night  and  day  in  order  to  harass  the 
Germans  who  crossed  the  river,  but  they  had  to 
yield  at  the  end,  when  the  Germans  put  Belgian 
civilians  in  front  of  themselves  when  attacking  the 
fort. 

I  was  roughly  pushed  back  by  the  German  soldiers 
twice  over.  I  broke  through  only  to  be  repulsed 
again.  They  got  into  difficulties  with  the  huge 
crowd,  who  pushed  through  on  all  sides,  bought  up 
the  stock  of  surrounding  shops,  and  threw  choco- 
lates and  other  sweets,  cigars  and  cigarettes,  at  their 


68       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

boys.  Then  a  bugle  sounded,  and  the  Belgians  once 
more  were  arrayed  in  files.  They  calmly  lighted 
their  cigarettes,  and  as  the  order  "march"  was 
given,  they  took  off  their  caps,  waved  them  through 
the  air,  and,  turning  to  the  Liege  crowd,  exclaimed: 
"Vive  la  Belgique."  Then  hundreds  of  caps,  hats, 
and  arms  were  waved  in  response,  the  air  resound- 
ing the  cry:  "Vive  la  Belgique.  Au  revoir!  Au 
revoir!" 

As  I  felt  myself  one  with  the  population,  I  un- 
covered my  head  and  enthusiastically  joined  in  the 
cry:  "Au  revoir!  Au  revoir!" 

When  I  was  half  way  between  Liege  and  the 
Netherland  frontier,  I  noticed  that  the  village  of 
Vivignes  was  burning  in  various  places.  It  is  a 
beautiful  spot,  quite  concealed  between  the  green 
trees  on  the  slope  of  the  hills,  west  of  the  canal. 
And  the  finest  and  largest  farms  were  exactly  those 
ablaze.  The  fire  crackled  fiercely,  roofs  came  down 
with  a  crash  and  a  thud.  Not  a  living  being  could 
be  seen.  From  the  windows  of  the  burning  houses 
small  white  flags  hung,  and  they  too  were  one  by 
one  destroyed  by  the  fire.  I  counted  forty-five 
farms  that  were  burning,  destroyed  by  the  raging 
flames. 

In  a  cafe,  lower  down,  near  the  canal  I  saw  a 
number  of  German  soldiers,  and  was  successful  in 
having  a  chat  with  the  inn-keeper,  at  the  farthest 
corner  of  the  bar.  I  asked  him,  of  course,  what  they 
meant  by  burning  the  village,  and  he  told  me  that 
the  Germans  had  made  a  number  of  unsuccessful 
attacks  on  Fort  Pontisse,  until  at  last  they  reduced 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  69 

it  to  silence.  They  were  now  so  near  that  they 
could  open  the  final  assault.  They  were  afraid, 
however,  of  some  ambush,  or  underground  mine,  and 
the  Friday  before  they  had  collected  the  popula- 
tion, whom  they  forced  to  march  in  front  of  them. 
When  they  had  got  quite  near  they  dared  not  enter 
it  yet,  and  drove  the  priest  and  twelve  of  the  prin- 
cipal villagers  before  them.  That  is  how  Pontisse 
was  conquered. 

Later  on  I  heard  the  same  story  from  several 
other  inhabitants. 

The  people  had  been  in  deadly  terror,  and  women 
and  old  men,  fearing  that  they  would  be  killed,  had 
fallen  on  their  knees  beseeching  the  soldiers  to 
spare  them.  At  present  many  women  and  old  men, 
and  even  strong  men,  were  laid  up  with  violent 
feverish  attacks  of  nerves. 

Only  because  these  wretched  people  had  not 
promptly  obeyed  the  order  of  the  military  to  march 
against  the  fort  in  front  of  the  soldiers,  Vivignes 
had  been  punished,  and  that  morning  over  forty  of 
the  best  houses  had  been  set  on  fire. 

I  shuddered  at  the  thought  that  in  these  days 
such  barbarities  were  possible.  I  asked  the  soldiers 
whether  I  was  allowed  to  enter  the  burning  vil- 
lage, but  the  commanding  sergeant  refused  his 
consent. 

I  also  asked  the  inn-keeper  whether  he  felt  no  fear 
in  those  surroundings.  But,  shrugging  his  shoulders, 
he  answered:  "All  we  can  do  is  to  wait  quietly.  I 
do  all  in  my  power  to  keep  them  in  a  good  temper, 
give  them  beer  and  cigars,  and  yesterday  killed  one 
of  my  two  cows  for  them.  I  may  have  lost  every- 


70   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

thing  at  the  end  of  the  war,  .  .  .  but  even  so,  let 
it  be,  if  I  can  only  save  the  life  of  my  family  and 
keep  a  roof  over  my  head.  But  my  anxiety  is  great 
enough,  for,  you  understand,  I  have  two  daughters 
.  .  .  and  .  .  .  and  .  .  ." 

We  had  got  near  the  door  of  the  room  that  stood 
ajar,  and  from  there  came  the  sound  of  a  couple  of 
girls' voices :  "Hail,  Mary.  .  .  .  Hail,  Mary.  .  .  ." 

The  frightened  maidens  were  saying  their 
rosary. 

The  news,  that  all  the  forts  had  now  been  taken 
was  quickly  communicated  to  the  surrounding  mili- 
tary posts,  and  in  consequence  the  soldiers  were 
in  a  wanton  mood.  Most  of  the  houses  which  I 
passed  had  their  doors  and  windows  smashed  and 
broken,  but  the  most  provoking  was  that  soldiers 
had  compelled  the  people  in  the  cafes  along  the 
canal  to  open  their  pianos  and  make  their  musical 
automatons  play.  To  the  tunes  of  these  instru- 
ments they  danced,  yelling  and  shouting.  No 
greater  contrast  was  imaginable  than  that  between 
such  scenes  and  the  burning  village  with  the  fright- 
ened inhabitants  around  it. 

Near  Haccourt,  by  the  bank  of  the  Meuse,  I 
noticed  a  terrible  glare  of  fire  and  dense  smoke.  It 
was  an  alarming  sight,  and  made  me  fear  the  direst 
things.  I  considered  for  a  moment  whether  I 
should  go  there  or  not,  fearing  that  I  had  already 
taxed  my  nerves  too  much.  Yet,  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  go,  and  by  a  side-way  got  to  the  Meuse, 
near  Vise.  German  engineers  were  busy  here  laying 
telephone  wires,  and  an  officer  stopped  me,  threaten- 
ing me  with  his  revolver.  It  was  obvious  that  they 


ROUND  ABOUT  LIEGE  71 

were  no  longer  accustomed  to  see  civilians  on  that 
road.  After  having  examined  my  passport  and 
seeing  that  I  was  a  Netherland  journalist,  he  be- 
came very  friendly,  and  politely  urged  me  not  to  go 
farther. 

"Why  not,  sir?"  I  asked. 

"Well,  there  is  a  huge  fire  yonder;  everything  is 
burning!" 

"How  did  that  come  about?" 

"Well,  it  seems  that  the  civilians  cannot  under- 
stand that  only  soldiers  may  fight  soldiers,  and  for 
that  reason  the  whole  place  has  been  set  on  fire." 

"Devant-le-Pont?" 

"No,  Vise." 

"Vise?  Do  you  mean  to  say,  sir,  that  the  whole 
of  Vise  has  been  set  on  fire?" 

"Certainly!" 

"But  .  .  .  but  .  .  .!     May  I  go  there?" 

"I  must  advise  you  not  to,  for  it  is  extremely 
dangerous,  but  if  you  like  .  .  ." 

"Very  well,  sir,  then  I  shall  go  there  I" 


CHAPTER  IV 

VISE  DESTROYED :  A  PREMEDITATED 
CRIME 

ONE  of  the  first  things  I  have  to  deal  with  is  also 
one  of  the  most  fearful  I  ever  saw,  and  I  only  hope 
that  I  may  never  again  witness  the  like  of  it. 

I  have  mentioned  already  the  reign  of  terror  with 
which  the  Germans  ruled  the  wretched  townlet  ever 
since  they  entered  it.  Something  fateful  might  hap- 
pen any  moment,  and  actually  occurred  during  the 
night  of  August  i5th  and  i6th. 

On  that  evening  the  soldiers,  rough  fellows  from 
East  Prussia,  had  been  revelling  in  the  cafes,  shouting 
filthy  ditties  in  the  streets,  and  most  of  them  in  a 
very  advanced  state  of  intoxication.  At  ten  o'clock 
suddenly  a  shot  was  heard.  The  fellows  took  their 
rifles,  which  they  had  placed  against  the  walls,  or  on 
the  tables  of  the  cafes,  and  ran  into  the  street  shout- 
ing in  a  mad  rage:  "They  have  been  shooting!" 
The  most  tipsy  began  to  shoot  at  doors  and  windows 
simultaneously  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  which 
made  the  people  in  the  houses  scream,  and  this 
excited  the  mad  drunken  soldiers  all  the  more. 

72 


VISE  DESTROYED  73 

They  forced  their  way  into  several  houses,  knocking 
down  the  frightened  inhabitants  when  these  tried 
to  stop  them. 

It  is  stated  that  some  of  the  wretched  people  were 
even  pinioned  and  beaten.  Their  assailants  then 
stumbled  up  the  stairs  and  began  to  shoot  wildly 
from  the  upper  stories  into  the  dark  streets,  where 
their  own  raving  comrades  were  rushing  about  like 
madmen.  Some  civilians  who  in  great  fear  had 
come  to  their  front  door  to  see  what  was  happening 
were  shot  down. 

After  this  game  had  been  going  on  for  some  time, 
the  order  was  given :  "Everybody  must  come  out- 
side." Doors  and  windows  were  forced  open  and 
broken,  and  men,  women,  and  children  driven  out  of 
the  houses.  They  were  at  once  ruthlessly  separated. 
Men  who  assisted  their  aged  mothers,  or  carried 
their  little  babies,  were  taken  away  from  their  fam- 
ilies, and  driven  away,  leaving  their  wailing  and 
weeping  wives  and  children  behind,  while  the  flames 
from  burning  houses  threw  a  lurid  light  on  the  sad 
scenes  of  that  terrible  evening. 

The  poor  wretches,  who  expected  to  be  killed 
at  any  moment,  were  driven  into  squares  or  the 
meadows,  where  they  were  exposed  to  the  chilly 
night  air,  so  that  several  babies  perished.  Only 
the  next  morning  were  the  women  and  children  al- 
lowed to  leave — that  is  to  say,  they  were  told  to  take 
the  shortest  way  to  Maastricht. 

A  number  of  the  men  were  taken  to  Germany, 
the  others  were  kept  as  prisoners  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  by  and  by  had  to  suffer  the  shame  of  being 
compelled  to  work  for  the  enemy.  Amongst  them 


74   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

were  men  who  had  never  done  any  manual  work, 
such  as  an  aged  notary  public. 

Even  a  doctor  of  the  Red  Cross  established  at 
St.  Hadelin  College  had  been  removed  in  his  white 
overall  and  wearing  his  Red  Cross  armlet.  This 
was  Dr.  Labye,  who  already  had  rendered  signal 
services  to  the  wounded  Germans.  In  consequence 
of  his  detention  twenty  of  them  were  left  in  the 
hospital  without  medical  attendance.  .  .  . 

During  the  night  only  a  few  houses  were  burnt 
down;  the  general  destruction  followed  the  next 
morning,  Sunday,  August  i6th,  and  just  as  I  reached 
the  little  town  the  flames  were  raging  all  over  the 
place  in  a  fierce  blaze. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  sight.  The  Meuse  sepa- 
rated me  from  the  raging  blaze  on  the  opposite 
bank.  The  flames  roared  violently,  roofs  and  rafters 
and  walls  crashed  down,  and  the  wood  of  living 
trees  was  burning  and  screeching  loudly.  I  saw  but 
a  sea  of  fire,  one  glaring  glow,  and  the  air  was 
scorchingly  hot.  A  light  breeze  blew  through  the 
place,  and  made  clouds  of  smoke  to  whirl  through 
the  streets  like  avalanches  of  snow.  The  view  down 
the  longer  streets  leading  straight  from  the  hill-tops 
to  the  Meuse  was  very  fantastic. 

The  wind  seemed  to  play  with  the  smoke,  rolling 
dense  volumes  down  the  slopes  which  dispersed 
only  when  they  reached  the  bank  along  the  river. 
Whilst  the  flames  soared  high  up  from  the  roofs, 
the  walls  of  the  houses  stood  still  erect,  and  every- 
where in  the  windows  one  saw  those  miserable 
little  white  flags,  symbols  of  submission,  mute  prayers 


VISE  DESTROYED  75 

that  submission  should  be  rewarded  by  sparing  the 
life  and  possession  of  the  inhabitants.  .  .  . 

I  stood  near  the  spot  where  the  ferry-boat  used 
to  take  people  across;  but  to  cross  was  now  out  of 
the  question,  for  any  one  alighting  on  the  opposite 
side  would  be  landed  in  the  scorching  glare.  There- 
fore, I  returned  to  Lixhe,  where  I  might  try  to  cross 
the  river  by  the  pontoon-bridge,  and  get  to  Vise 
along  the  other  bank  of  the  Meuse. 

On  the  way  I  was  stopped  by  two  soldiers,  one 
of  whom  examined  my  papers,  and,  finding  that  I 
was  a  journalist,  revealed  himself  as  a  colleague,  in 
ordinary  times  editor  of  the  Kolnische  Zeitung.  He 
shook  both  my  hands  quite  excitedly,  glad  to  meet 
a  colleague,  and,  better  still,  one  from  the  ufriendly" 
Netherlands. 

I  had  to  listen  to  a  prolonged  hymn  of  praise  of 
the  Netherlanders,  who  were  such  sensible  people, 
and  the  best  friends  of  the  Germans;  protestations 
which  did  not  interest  me  in  the  least  at  that  mo- 
ment. On  the  contrary,  it  struck  me  as  deplorable 
that  this  man  did  not  say  a  single  word  of  his  own 
accord  about  the  horrible  thing  happening  close  by: 
the  destruction  of  an  entire  community!  He  did  not 
seem  to  attach  any  importance  to  it.  ... 

As  soon  as  the  "friendly"  Netherlander  thought 
that  he  had  swallowed  sufficient  praise,  I  began  to 
ask  questions  about  the  meaning  of  that  wanton  de- 
vastation, and  why  it  was  inflicted  on  the  popula- 
tion !  Before  answering,  he  looked  round  in  a  casual 
manner,  as  if  thinking:  "Oh,  it's  that  bit  of  fire 
you  refer  to!"  And  then  exploded  in  a  string  of 
imprecations  against  the  population. 


76   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

It  is  a  lamentable  sign  that  this  German,  probably 
well  educated,  had  not  taken  the  slightest  trouble 
to  find  out  the  reason  for  this  wholesale  wrecking 
of  a  town,  that  the  whole  affair  impressed  him  so 
little.  "Somebody"  had  said  that  those  cursed 
civilians  had  been  shooting,  that  explained  it  to  his 
satisfaction,  and  gave  him  ample  cause  for  coarse 
abuse  of  the  wretched  people. 

How  many  soldiers  had  fallen  in  consequence  of 
this  attack  by  francs-tireurs  he  knew  not;  which 
troops  had  witnessed  the  occurrence  he  could  not 
say.  All  he  did  know  was  that  these  troops  had  left 
in  the  morning,  leaving  a  small  force  behind  to  im- 
pose the  punishment. 

The  bridge-command  at  the  pontoon-bridge  near 
Lixhe  allowed  me  to  cross,  after  requesting  me  very 
pressingly  to  make  very  clear  what  swine  these  Bel- 
gians were,  who  fired  so  treacherously  at  unsus- 
pecting soldiers,  put  out  the  eyes  of  the  wounded, 
cut  off  their  hands  and  genitals.  When  I  asked 
where  all  these  things  had  happened,  the  answer  was : 
"Everywhere !"  Of  course,  I  promised  them  to  do 
everything  they  wanted. 

Very  large  divisions  marched  from  Vise  to  the 
pontoon  bridge  in  the  direction  of  Tongres.  After 
the  Liege  forts  had  been  taken  the  bridge  might  be 
passed  in  perfect  safety.  All  day  long  troops  came 
along  that  road  without  interruption.  I  could  quite 
see  that  the  soldiers  who  were  at  Vise  the  previous 
day,  and  brought  about  the  conflagration,  were  gone, 
for  they  had  left  their  traces  behind.  All  along  the 
road  lay  parts  of  bicycles,  shoes,  instruments,  toys, 
and  so  on,  everything  new  and  evidently  looted  from 


VISE  DESTROYED  77 

the  shops.  Very  valuable  things  were  among  them, 
everything  crushed  and  smashed  by  the  cavalry 
horses,  the  clumsy  munition  and  forage  waggons,  or 
the  heavy  wheels  of  the  guns. 

A  little  farther  on  a  few  houses  were  left  un- 
damaged, because  they  stood  outside  the  town 
proper.  A  woman  who  had  remained  in  her  house 
stood  outside  with  cigar-boxes  under  her  arm.  She 
offered  cigars  from  an  open  box  to  the  soldiers  of 
the  passing  divisions.  To  me  she  seemed  to  be  out 
of  her  mind,  as  she  stood  there  trembling,  her  face 
distorted  from  hypernervousness.  Her  cringing 
kindness  was  of  no  avail,  for  I  noticed  a  couple  of 
days  afterwards  that  her  house  too  had  been  totally 
destroyed. 

On  the  first  houses  of  the  town  large  bills  had 
been  stuck,  intimating  that  they  were  a  Netherland- 
er's  property,  but  obviously  that  had  not  impressed 
the  tipsy  soldiers  to  any  extent,  for  they  had  been 
wrecked  all  the  same  for  the  greater  part. 

The  whole  town  was  like  a  sea  of  fire.  The  Ger- 
mans, who  are  nothing  if  not  thorough,  even  in  the 
matter  of  arson,  had  worked  out  their  scheme  in 
great  detail.  In  most  houses  they  had  poured  some 
benzine  or  paraffin  on  the  floor,  put  a  lighted  match 
to  it,  and  thrown  a  small  black  disc,  the  size  of  a 
farthing,  on  the  burning  spot,  and  then  immediately 
the  flames  flared  up  with  incredible  fury.  I  do  not 
know  the  constituents  of  this  particular  product  of 
"Kultur." 

Nor  did  I  see  any  inhabitants  in  the  burning 
town.  It  was  practically  impossible  to  stay  in  the 
streets ;  burning  walls  and  roofs  and  gutters  crashed 


78       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

down  with  a  great  noise,  so  that  the  streets  were  as 
much  on  fire  as  the  houses  themselves.  Only  at 
the  crossings  were  any  soldiers  to  be  seen,  who,  in 
various  stages  of  intoxication,  constantly  aimed  at 
the  burning  houses,  and  shot  everything  that  tried 
to  escape  from  the  burning  stables  and  barns:  pigs, 
horses,  cows,  dogs,  and  so  on. 

Suddenly  I  saw  a  boy  about  twelve  years  old  in 
one  of  the  burning  streets.  He  waved  his  arms, 
rushed  madly  to  and  fro,  calling  for  his  father  and 
mother,  and  his  little  brother  and  sisters.  He  was 
in  danger  of  perishing  in  the  fire,  or  being  killed  by 
the  murderous  bullet  from  a  rifle.  I  ran  after  him, 
laid  hold  of  him,  and  in  spite  of  his  resistance  pulled 
him  back.  Fortunately  I  met  a  couple  of  kind,  sober 
soldiers  to  whom  I  told  the  story,  and  who  promised 
to  send  the  boy  away  from  the  burning  town. 

Shortly  afterwards  I  met  a  Netherland  Red  Cross 
motor-car.  The  male  nurses,  who  had  met  me  al- 
ready on  former  occasions  during  the  war,  recog- 
nised me,  rushed  up  to  me,  and  forced  me  to  come 
with  them  to  the  car.  Here  they  tried  to  explain 
with  a  torrential  flow  of  words  that  I  exposed  my- 
self to  the  greatest  danger  by  coming  here,  as  nearly 
all  the  soldiers  were  drunk,  shot  at  every  civilian, 
and  so  on. 

They  insisted  upon  my  staying  near  the  car,  and 
be  a  little  safer  under  the  protection  of  the  Red 
Cross.  They  told  me  how  they  had  to  drag  an  old 
woman  out  of  her  house,  who  refused  to  come  with 
them,  and  in  her  despair  shouted  nothing  but:  "Let 
me  die ! — let  me  die  I" 

I  could  not  say  or  do  anything,  for  I  felt  as  if 


VISE  DESTROYED  79 

stunned,  and  let  them  lead  me  where  they  liked;  so 
they  gave  me  a  glass  of  claret,  and  that  revived  me. 

A  few  moments  after  they  went  away  I  went  also, 
and  entered  the  burning  town  once  more.  A  Nether- 
land  family  lived  in  Villa  Rustica,  and  I  had  prom- 
ised to  make  inquiries  about  them. 

As  I  stood  there  looking  at  the  ruins  of  what  was 
once  so  fine  a  house,  a  small  group  of  refugees  ap- 
proached, carrying  as  usual  their  miserable  parcels 
in  which  they  had  hurriedly  collected  the  things  that 
had  the  least  value.  As  they  saw  me  they  shuddered 
and  shivered  and  crept  closer  together.  Most  of 
them  wept  and  sobbed,  and  their  faces  were  twisting 
nervously. 

I  went  up  to  them  and  explained  that  there  was 
no  need  at  all  to  be  afraid  of  me.  They  were  able  to 
give  me  news  of  the  inhabitants  of  Villa  Rustica. 
The  owner  had  died  a  few  days  since,  from  a  para- 
lytic stroke,  brought  on  by  the  emotions  caused  by 
the  German  horrors,  whereas  madame,  who  had 
heroically  intervened  on  behalf  of  some  victims,  was 
probably  at  St.  Hadelin  College. 

My  poor  informants  had  not  yet  made  up  their 
mind  where  to  go,  fearing  that  they  might  not  be 
permitted  to  enter  The  Netherlands  as  they  were 
without  means  of  subsistence.  I  assured  them,  how- 
ever, that  our  conception  of  neighbourly  love  and 
charity  was  different,  and  that  they  would  be  hos- 
pitably received. 

I  showed  them  the  way  to  Eysden,  and  they  had 
scarcely  started  when  a  cavalry  patrol  came  racing 
on,  the  men  tipsy  and  their  seat  rather  unstable. 
Seeing  the  refugees,  they  aimed  their  rifles  at  them 


80   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and  roared  "Hands  up!"  The  poor  creatures  not 
only  put  up  their  hands,  but  fell  on  their  knees, 
and  muttered  incoherent  words.  The  women  folded 
their  hands,  and  stretched  them  out  to  the  cavalry, 
as  if  praying  for  mercy.  The  soldiers  looked  at 
the  scene  for  a  moment,  burst  out  in  a  harsh  laughter, 
spurred  on  their  horses,  and  raced  on  without  a 
word.  Two  of  them  stopped  near  me.  I  gave  them, 
however,  no  time  for  threats,  but  quickly  showed 
them  the  old  pass  to  Vise.  As  soon  as  they  saw  the 
German  writing  they  said:  "All  right!"  and  went 
off. 

I  came  now  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  town, 
whence  the  streets  slope  gently  towards  the  bank  of 
the  Meuse.  Here  I  had  an  atrociously  fantastic  view 
of  the  burning  mass  of  houses.  I  fell  in  with  a  crowd 
of  dead-drunk  soldiers,  who  first  handed  my  papers 
on  from  the  one  to  the  other,  but  as  soon  as  they 
understood  that  I  was  a  Netherlander  they  showed 
no  hostility. 

They  sang  and  shouted  and  waved  their  arms. 
Most  of  them  carried  bottles  full  of  liquor,  which 
they  put  to  their  mouths  frequently,  smashed  them 
on  the  ground,  or  handed  them  to  their  comrades, 
when  unable  to  drink  any  more  themselves.  Each 
of  a  troop  of  cavalry  had  a  bottle  of  pickles,  and 
enjoyed  them  immensely. 

Other  soldiers  kept  on  running  into  the  burning 
houses,  carrying  out  vases,  pictures,  plate,  or  small 
pieces  of  furniture.  They  smashed  everything  on 
the  cobbles  and  then  returned  to  wreck  more  things 
that  would  have  been  destroyed  by  the  fire  all  the 
same.  It  was  a  revelry  of  drunken  vandalism.  They 


VISE  DESTROYED  81 

seemed  mad,  and  even  risked  being  burned  alive  at 
this  work  of  destruction.  Most  of  the  officers  were 
also  tipsy;  not  one  of  them  was  saluted  by  the 
soldiers. 

The  beastly  scenes  which  I  witnessed  in  the  glar- 
ing, scorching  heat  benumbed  me,  and  I  looked  on 
vacantly  for  a  long  time.  At  last  I  went  back  and 
called  at  St.  Hadelin  College,  the  Head  of  which  I 
had  visited  already  once  or  twice.  The  building 
was  still  undamaged. 

As  soon  as  the  Reverend  Head,  Dr.  Frits  Goffin, 
saw  me  he  burst  out  sobbing,  and,  taking  me  by  the 
hand,  speechless,  he  pressed  it  a  long  time.  I  myself 
also  was  quite  dumb.  At  length  he  muttered: 

"Could  you  ever*  have  thought  .  .  .  that  .  .  . 
that  .  .  .  such  ...  a  cruel  .  .  .  fate  would  over- 
whelm us?  What  crime  did  these  poor  people  com- 
mit? Have  we  not  given  all  we  had?  Have  we  not 
strictly  obeyed  their  commands?  Have  we  not  done 
more  than  they  asked  for?  Have  we  not  charitably 
nursed  their  wounded  in  this  House?  Oh!  they 
profess  deep  gratitude  to  me.  But  .  .  .  why  then? 
There  is  nothing  left  in  the  House  for  the  aged 
refugees  whom  we  admitted,  for  the  soldiers  we 
nurse;  our  doctor  has  been  made  a  prisoner  and 
taken  away,  and  we  are  without  medical  help.  This 
is  nothing  for  the  Sisters  and  myself,  but  all 
these  unfortunate  creatures  .  .  .  they  must  have 
food.  .  .  ." 

The  excellent  man  went  on  weeping,  and  I  was 
not  able  to  console  him  and  did  not  know  what  to 
say.  He  took  my  arm,  and  led  me  to  the  large 
common  hall,  where  twenty  wounded  Germans  lay, 


82       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

who  had  been  hit  in  the  fight  for  the  forts.  He 
went  to  one  bed  after  the  other,  and,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  asked  each  man  how  he  felt,  and  inquired, 
"are you  .  .  .  properly  .  .  .  cared  for  .  .  .  here? 
Are  you?"  The  sick  men  turned  round,  their  eyes 
beamed,  and  they  stammered  words  full  of  grati- 
tude. Others  said  nothing,  but  took  the  Head's  hand 
and  pressed  it  long  and  warmly. 

The  wounded  civilians  had  been  put  up  in  the 
small  schoolrooms.  Some  of  them  must  soon  die. 
Some  had  burns,  but  most  of  them  were  hit  the 
previous  night  during  the  mad  outbreak,  the  mad 
shooting  of  the  drunken  and  riotous  Germans.  In 
another  room  a  number  of  old  women  were  crowded 
together,  who  had  to  fly  but  could  not  walk  all  the 
way  to  the  Netherland  frontier. 

Near  each  staircase  stood  a  blackboard  on  which 
the  Germans  had  written  that  to  go  upstairs  was 
prohibited  under  penalty  of  death.  The  Head  ex- 
plained that  the  Germans  alleged  that  light  signals 
had  been  given  from  the  top  storey. 

Two  South-American  boys,  about  twelve  years 
old,  had  stayed  on  and  heroically  assisted  the  Head 
at  his  charitable  work.  Dr.  Goffin  was  not  allowed 
to  take  anybody  with  him  except  these  two  children 
in  his  search  for  the  wounded,  and  to  bury  the  dead. 
It  is  scarcely  credible  how  courageously  these  boys 
of  such  tender  age  behaved.  Later  the  Chilean  am- 
bassador made  inquiries  about  them  and  asked  for 
their  portraits. 

I  also  met  there  a  compatriot,  who  had  got  per- 
mission to  go  to  The  Netherlands,  but  declined  to 


VISE  DESTROYED  83 

leave.     She  was  Mrs.  de  Villers,  nee  Borret.     On 
August  zyth  I  wrote  about  her  to  De  Tijd: — 

"Four  days  ago  her  husband  was  buried.  As  he 
was  addressing  the  League  of  Old-Retraitants  at 
Cherath  he  was  seized  by  a  paralytic  stroke,  which 
proved  fatal.  She  has  no  longer  a  home,  beautiful 
Villa  Rustica  being  completely  burnt  out,  and  now  in 
ruins.  But  she  refuses  to  return  to  The  Nether- 
lands, as  she  is  still  able  to  be  of  service  to  the  peo- 
ple here. 

"In  Cherath  she  saved  the  life  of  a  good  many. 
As  it  was  alleged  that  there  had  been  shooting,  the 
priest,  the  chaplain,  a  retired  priest,  eighty  years  old, 
the  mayor,  and  several  leading  citizens  were  con- 
demned to  be  shot.  None,  not  even  the  priest,  was 
able  to  defend  himself,  as  they  knew  not  a  word  of 
German,  and  could  not  make  themselves  understood. 
Mrs.  de  Villers,  who  speaks  German  fluently,  ex- 
plained that  the  spot  where  the  shooting  was  alleged 
to  have  taken  place  was  not  part  of  Cherath  at  all. 

"So  this  brave  lady  succeeded  in  getting  the  sen- 
tence of  death  withdrawn.  But  the  Germans  wanted 
to  torture  their  wretched  prisoners  on  any  or  no 
plea.  They  were  placed  near  the  church  wall,  kept 
standing  there  all  night,  were  told  that  they  would 
be  shot  by  and  by,  and  threatened  by  the  soldiers  with 
their  bayonets. 

"In  the  morning  sixty  soldiers  escorted  them  out 
of  the  village  to  the  hamlet  Wandre,  where  the 
populace  was  told  they  would  be  shot.  Should  one 
shot  be  fired  by  one  of  the  inhabitants — thus  Mrs. 
de  Villers  was  told — the  prisoners  would  be  shot  out 
of  hand;  if  not,  they  would  be  released  at  Wandre. 
Mrs.  de  Villers  had,  of  course,  secretly  warned  the 
inhabitants  in  time. 


84   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"She  hopes  to  be  able  to  render  further  services 
to  the  populace,  thanks  to  her  knowledge  of  Ger- 
man, and  stays  on,  occupying  her  time  with  chari- 
table work.  A  respectful  salute  is  due  to  this  cour- 
ageous compatriot." 

On  the  same  day  I  wrote  as  follows  about  Dr. 
Goffin : — 


"His  face,  unshaven  since  ever  so  long,  is  quite 
emaciated,  and  presents  all  the  symptoms  of  ner- 
vous exhaustion.  Once  more  twenty  German  soldiers 
are  being  nursed  in  his  college,  where  only  once  a 
German  doctor  came  to  see  them.  He  (Dr.  Goffin) 
and  a  couple  of  Sisters  have  to  manage  everything 
by  themselves,  and  the  Germans  do  not  even  dream 
of  providing  food  for  their  own  wounded,  although 
the  college  is  so  inadequately  provisioned  that  the 
Head  and  the  Sisters  have  to  deny  themselves  the 
necessary  nourishment  that  they  may  feed  the 


"And  how  are  they  thanked  for  it? 

"The  Reverend  Head  has  been  notified  already 
ten  times  that  he  would  be  shot,  and  he  is  frequently 
being  arrested  for  alleged  shooting  from  the  build- 
ing. This  shooting  is  actually  done  by  German  sol- 
diers alone,  who  are  loafing  and  looting,  as  I  myself 
noticed  a  short  time  ago.  The  Head  took  me  to  a 
room  where  an  old  man  of  ninety,  who  had  just  re- 
received  the  extreme  unction,  lay  dying.  By  his  side 
sat  a  broken-hearted  little  old  woman,  his  wife.  This 
old  man  had  been  taken  prisoner  with  other  men  of 
Vise,  and  forced  to  work  at  a  new  bridge.  The  poor 
fellow  broke  down  under  the  strain;  it  cost  him  his 
life." 


VISE  DESTROYED  85 

I  left  burning  Vise  deeply  impressed  by  the  savage 
scenes  I  had  witnessed:  men  turned  into  beasts  by 
drink,  passion,  and  anger,  doing  all  manner  of  wrong 
to  the  wretched  inhabitants;  but  the  impression  be- 
came deeper  by  the  great  contrast :  the  perfect,  chari- 
table devotion  of  a  virtuous  priest,  a  courageous  lady, 
and  ever  kind  and  commiserate  Sisters.  Never  have 
I  experienced  so  many  emotions  in  one  day  as  at 
Vise. 

After  taking  warm  leave  of  the  Head  of  St. 
Hadelin  College,  I  continued  my  walk  to  the  Nether- 
land  frontier. 

I  was  scarcely  outside  the  townlet  when  I  met 
another  little  group  of  refugees,  probably  all  mem- 
bers of  one  family.  The  mother  was  being  sup- 
ported by  her  daughters,  all  wept,  and  nervous  ex- 
haustion made  them  totter  as  they  walked.  Every 
moment  the  mother  looked  back' pitifully  at  the 
conflagration  which  devoured  all  around,  including 
her  slender  property,  for  which  she  had  worked  so 
many  years. 

From  the  other  side  came  two  soldiers,  one  of 
whom  she  recognised,  as  he  had  been  billeted  on 
her.  Constantly  weeping,  her  face  distorted,  she 
sent  another  glance  towards  that  fiery  blaze,  looked 
at  the  soldier  as  if  reprovingly,  hesitated  a  moment, 
but  then  pressed  the  enemy's  hand,  sobbing:  "Adieu ! 
—adieu!" 

Sometimes  I  felt  as  if  I  were  dreaming  and  wanted 
to  call  myself  back  from  this  nightmare  to  another, 
better,  and  real  world.  And  I  thought  constantly 
of  the  man  who,  by  one  word,  had  given  the  order 
for  these  murders,  this  arson;  the  man  who  severed 


86       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

husbands  and  fathers,  wives  and  mothers,  and  chil- 
dren, who  caused  so  many  innocent  people  to  be 
shot,  who  destroyed  the  results  of  many,  many  years 
of  strict  economy  and  strenuous  industry. 

The  first  acquaintance  whom  I  met  on  Nether- 
land  territory  was  a  Netherland  lady  married  to  a 
Walloon,  who  kept  a  large  cafe  at  Vise.  Before 
the  destruction  she  had  asked  me,  full  of  anxiety, 
whether  the  Germans  would  indeed  carry  out  their 
threat  and  wreck  everything.  I  had  comforted  her, 
and  answered  that  I  did  not  think  them  capable 
of  doing  such  a  thing.  Weeping,  she  came  to  me, 
and  reminded  me  of  my  words.  The  whole  business, 
in  which  these  young  people  had  invested  their  slen- 
der capital,  had  been  wrecked. 


CHAPTER  V 
FRANCS-TIREURS? 

I  THINK  that  there  is  no  better  occasion  to  deal  with 
the  question  whether  there  was  a  franc-tireur- 
guerilla  in  Belgium  than  after  the  chapter  on  the 
destruction  of  Vise. 

My  opinion  on  the  matter  is  still  the  same  as 
when  I  first  wrote  about  it  to  De  Tijd,  and  in  Vri) 
Belgie;  and  from  my  own  personal  knowledge  and 
after  mixing  with  the  people  I  consider  the  allega- 
tion that  the  Belgians  acted  as  francs-tireurs  an  abso- 
lute lie. 

Some  uphold  the  accusation  on  the  ground  of 
expressions  in  Belgian  newspapers,  collected  in  a 
German  pamphlet.  In  my  opinion  these  quotations 
have  not  the  slightest  value.  Everyone  will  under- 
stand this  who  thinks  of  the  excitement  of  journalists, 
whose  country  was  suddenly  and  quite  unexpectedly 
involved  in  a  terrible  war,  and  who  felt  now  that 
as  journalists  they  had  to  perform  a  great,  patriotic 
duty.  In  their  nervous,  over-excited  condition  they 
sat  at  their  desk  and  listened  to  the  gossip  of  refu- 
gees about  civilians  taking  part  in  the  struggle.  In 
their  imagination  they  saw  hordes  of  barbarians 
overrun  their  native  soil,  saw  man  and  man,  woman 

87 


88   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and  woman,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  resisting  the 
invader  without  regard  for  their  own  life.  The 
thoughts  of  such  journalists,  whose  very  own  country 
had  been  at  war  now  for  a  few  days,  were  not  on 
severe  logical  lines;  they  found  a  certain  beauty 
in  that  picture,  and  I  can  quite  understand  how 
some  came  to  believe  in  it  as  a  reality,  and  gloried 
in  it. 

That  is  not  evidence  however,  for  how  did  they 
get  the  information?  From  my  own  experience 
I  make  bold  to  say  with  the  greatest  confidence 
that  these  reports  came  from  German  sources  only, 
whereas  there  was  not  any  ground  for  them. 

I  have  witnessed  all  the  people  during  the  very 
earliest  days  of  the  war.  I  came  to  Liege,  passing 
between  the  forts,  as  described  already.  I  was  in 
Lixhe  when  the  pontoon  bridge  was  wrecked  repeat- 
edly by  Fort  Pontisse;  I  stayed  at  Vise  three  times 
before  the  destruction  began,  and  I  was  there  when 
the  charming  townlet  was  wrecked  by  fire;  and  in 
Louvain  I  have  been  dragged  from  my  bed  by 
six  soldiers  and  arrested,  when  the  whole  town  was 
still  ablaze. 

Very  well,  I  have : 

1.  Never  seen  anything  of  a  franc-tireur-guerilla. 

2.  Never  seen   anyone  who  was   arrested   as  a 
franc-tireur. 

3.  Never  heard  any  German  soldier,  of  whatever 
rank,  assert  that  he  himself  had  witnessed  any  ac- 
tion by  a  franc-tireur,  although  I  questioned  such 
soldiers  times  without  number.     They  always  men- 
tioned others,  who  had  left  days  ago,  and  were  said 
to  have  gone  through  the  miserable  experience! 


FRANCS-TIREURS  ?  89 

4.  Never  heard  the  name  of  any  franc-tireur  in 
answer  to  my  questions. 

But  they  were  always  German  officers  and  no 
others  who  talked  about  francs-tireurs,  and  at  Vise, 
Liege,  Dinant,  Bilsen,  and  particularly  at  Louvain, 
they  constantly  pressed  me  and  tried  to  make  me 
promise  that  I  should  write  to  De  Tijd  about  francs- 
tireurs  and  justify  the  devastations.  These  stones 
emanated  from  the  officers  and  permeated  the  rank 
and  file ;  and  the  men  grew  fearfully  angry  with  the 
Belgians,  whom  they  cursed  and  abused.  It  also 
made  the  soldiers  terribly  afraid  of  francs-tireurs, 
and  I  noticed  many  a  time  that  some  loud  sound 
from  a  falling  wall,  for  example,  made  a  whole 
troop  of  soldiers  jump  up,  lay  hold  of  their  rifles, 
and  hide  themselves  in  an  absolute  "blue  funk." 
The  mere  noise  made  them  curse  and  rage  and  talk 
of  nothing  but  burning  houses. 

In  the  end  these  stories  of  the  soldiers  convinced 
even  the  inhabitants  that  there  had  been  francs- 
tireurs,  but  never  in  the  place  where  they  lived, 
always  somewhere  else.  They  could  not  believe 
that  the  Germans  could  be  so  cruel  and  wreck  so 
much  property  if  nothing  at  all  had  happened; 
and  when  at  length  the  time  came  that  they  them- 
selves were  obliged  to  fly,  many  of  them  believed 
that  their  compatriots  who  elsewhere  acted  as  francs- 
tireurs  were  to  blame  for  all  the  dire  calamities. 
But  if  they  had  had  my  opportunity  to  go  "else- 
where" and  gather  information  there,  they  would 
have  been  convinced  of  the  untruth,  and  probably 
would  have  heard  the  name  of  their  own  village  as 


90   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  scene  of  the  occurrence.  That  was  how  rumours 
and  reports  got  about. 

Many  soldiers,  probably  most  of  them,  were  un- 
doubtedly of  good  faith,  and  believed  what  they 
related;  but  the  damnable  notion  had  been  put  into 
their  heads  by  their  superiors.  That  is  why  I  do 
not  consider  it  impossible  that  some  places  were 
wrecked  on  account  of  alleged  acts  by  francs-tireurs. 

I  have  explained  already  in  the  chapter  "Round 
about  Liege"  that  I  myself  was  duped  occasionally, 
for  example,  by  the  story  of  the  three  hundred 
civilians  who  had  been  shot.  To  my  mind  these 
violent  acts  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  were  part 
and  parcel  of  the  system  of  frightfulness,  by  which 
the  Germans  tried  to  scare  the  population  and 
indirectly  the  hostile  armies,  at  the  same  time  rous- 
ing their  own  soldiers  to  anger  and  fury. 

That  mad  fury  was  also  intensified  considerably 
by  the  accusations  about  gruesome  mutilations  com- 
mitted on  German  soldiers  by  Belgians,  who  were 
said  to  have  cut  off  the  noses,  ears,  genitals,  and 
so  on  of  their  enemies.  These  rumours  were  so 
persistent  that  in  the  end  it  was  generally  believed 
in  neutral  countries  that  these  things  had  happened 
frequently. 

No  little  astonishment  was  therefore  created  by 
an  interview  which  I  published  with  Dr.  van  der 
Goot  of  The  Hague,  who  did  so  much  excellent 
work  in  the  Red  Cross  Hospital  at  Maastricht.  He 
also  had  come  to  believe  all  these  stories,  and  as 
everybody  always  mentioned  a  large  hospital  in 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  was  said  to  be  full  of  simi- 
larly mutilated  soldiers,  Dr.  van  der  Goot  went  to 


FRANCS-TIREURS?  91 

that  town  to  see  for  himself.  The  chief  medical 
officer  of  that  hospital  in  a  conversation  stated  that 
not  one  single  case  of  that  sort  had  been  treated  in 
his  institution  nor  in  any  of  the  other  local  hospitals 
where  he  was  a  visiting  physician.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  medical  circle  just  lately  held  he  had  not 
heard  one  word,  nor  had  any  one  colleague,  about 
the  treatment  of  similar  cases. 

In  Louvain  I  was  myself  arrested,  because  a  more 
than  half-drunk  soldier  had  accused  me  of  spying 
and  arson!  There  too  I  had  to  listen  to  all  sorts 
of  abuse  because  I  was  a  franc-tireur.  And  in  spite 
of  all  this  they  tried  to  extract  a  promise  from  me 
to  write  against  the  f rancs-tireurs ! 

The  history  of  the  destruction  of  Vise  affords 
also  interesting  support  to  my  opinion,  as  previously 
expressed,  that  the  violent  actions  of  the  Germans 
took  place  according  to  a  fully  thought-out  design. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  war  the  papers 
published  a  report,  of  German  origin,  that  Vise  had 
been  destroyed  because  francs-tireurs  had  appeared. 
I  was  therefore  not  a  little  amazed  when,  arriving 
there  on  August  8th,  I  found  the  townlet  entirely 
undamaged,  and  even  the  German  military  admitted 
that  they  had  not  heard  a  word  about  francs-tireurs. 

But  the  inhabitants  were  treated  even  then  in 
a  most  vexatious  manner,  and  on  August  I4th  (the 
destruction  came  about  on  the  i6th)  I  wrote  to  De 
Tijd  (No.  20457)  :— 

"Vise  is  under  a  real  reign  of  terror.  The  day  be- 
fore yesterday  the  town-crier  walked  the  streets  with 
his  bell,  and  announced  that  within  twenty-four  hours 


92       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

everyone  had  to  deliver  his  bicycle  at  the  bridge. 
Anyone  in  whose  house  a  bicycle  should  be  found 
would  be  shot  and  his  house  set  on  fire.  Yesterday 
morning  the  Germans  announced  once  more  that  all 
arms,  including  those  that  were  old  or  damaged  or 
taken  to  pieces,  should  be  handed  in  at  the  town-hall 
within  an  hour.  If  any  arms  should  be  found  any- 
where after  that,  they  would  shoot  the  inhabitants 
and  burn  down  the  town.  Eatables  and  drinkables 
were  requisitioned  continuously  under  threats  of  fir- 
ing the  town,  and  the  inhabitants  are  afraid  of  noth- 
ing so  much  as  of  the  possibility  that  something  may 
be  required  some  day  or  other  that  cannot  be  pro- 
duced." 

Even  before  that,  on  August  nth  I  sent  a  com- 
munication, by  post  or  cable  (De  Tijd,  No.  20353), 
in  which  the  following  is  found: — 

"In  and  round  about  Vise  people  sleep  in  their 
cellars,  as  they  are  threatened  frequently  that  the 
town  will  be  set  on  fire." 

Anyone  who,  like  myself,  has  been  able  to  see 
in  what  frame  of  mind  the  people  were  during  the 
first  days  of  the  German  occupation,  cannot  believe 
it  possible  that  they  would  even  think  of  taking  up 
arms.  They  lived  in  an  unending  terror,  tried  to 
forestall  the  invader's  demands,  and,  if  anything  was 
requisitioned,  they  searched  each  other's  houses 
to  see  whether  anything  was  kept  back  and  all  the 
demanded  bottles  of  gin  or  claret  were  forthcoming. 
There  was  not  one  who  did  not  keep  his  door  open 
as  widely  as  possible  to  prove  his  complete  sub- 


FRANCS-TIREURS  ?  93 

missiveness,  and  to  let  the  Germans  enter  his  house 
at  any  time  to  check  what  was  to  be  found  there. 
Every  moment  I  saw  men  or  women  run  into  the 
street  offering  cigars  to  the  soldiers  from  open  boxes, 
smiling  nervously  and  desperately,  trying  to  behave 
as  unconcernedly  as  possible.  During  those  early 
days  payment  for  refreshments  was  accepted  hardly 
anywhere,  and  people  often  refused  to  accept  money 
from  me,  because  they  mistook  me  for  a  German. 

Men  and  young  women  in  the  prime  of  life  sat 
whole  days  in  a  chair,  or  lay  abed,  because  in  the 
most  literal  sense  of  the  word  they  were  unable  to 
stand  on  their  feet  for  fear  and  terror,  caused  by 
the  incessant  menaces. 

And  during  these  first  days  of  the  war  I  had  not 
met  a  single  person  who  was  able  to  settle  down 
quietly  in  the  existing  circumstances,  not  a  single 
person  in  whom  anger  and  fury  subdued  fear  and 
terror. 

Is  it  thinkable  that  persons  in  that  frame  of  mind 
would  take  up  arms  and  invite  the  enemy's  revenge 
upon  themselves  and  those  near  and  dear  to  them, 
a  revenge  of  which  they  were  so  mortally  afraid? 

And  supposing  for  a  moment  that  the  allegations 
made  by  the  Germans  were  true,  that  there  had 
been  shooting  at  Vise  for  example,  then  one  might 
perhaps  consider  the  revenge  justifiable,  but  should 
also  expect  that  they  would  punish  with  a  heavy 
heart,  conscious  that  they  were  inflicting  a  necessary 
evil. 

Of  a  heavy  heart,  however,  there  was  not  a  trace. 
In  the  previous  chapter  I  described  how  beastly 
they  behaved  during  the  destruction  of  Vise;  how 


94       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  soldiers  drank  immoderate  quantities  of  alcohol, 
and  then  jeered  at  the  wretched  refugees;  how  they 
indulged  in  unmitigated  vandalism,  and  wrecked  by 
hand  things  of  which  they  knew  that  by  and  by  would 
be  destroyed  by  fire. 

Children  and  old  people  perished  in  consequence 
of  the  cruel  heartlessness  of  the  Germans,  and  in 
St.  Hadelin  College  they  robbed  their  own  wounded 
of  medical  help  and  surgical  appliances. 

This  happened  not  only  at  Vise,  but  also  at  other 
places  which  I  visited,  more  especially  at  Louvain. 
And  those  who  read  the  following  chapters  carefully 
will  find  sufficient  support  for  my  opinion,  that 
Belgium  is  innocent  of  the  base  charges  and  allega- 
tions uttered  by  Germany,  which  country  soiled  its 
conscience  still  worse,  first  by  plunging  the  little  king- 
dom into  the  direst  misery,  and  then  by  accusing  it 
falsely  of  crimes  which  it  never  committed. 


CHAPTER  VI 
WITH  THE  FLEMINGS 

BETWEEN  my  tours  through  the  Liege  district  I 
made  a  trip  in  the  direction  of  Tongres,  because  I 
wanted  to  know  what  had  become  of  all  those  Ger- 
mans who  had  crossed  the  Meuse  near  Lixhe.  It 
was  remarkable  to  notice  how  friendly  the  Flem- 
ings of  that  district  behaved  with  regard  to  the 
Germans.  Although  they  criticised  the  violation 
of  the  country's  neutrality  sharply,  and  every  family 
was  proud  of  the  sons  who  had  taken  up  arms  in 
defence  of  their  Fatherland,  yet  they  judged  quite 
kindly  the  German  soldiers  who  passed  through  their 
district.  I  often  heard  expressions  full  of  pity  to- 
ward those  men,  who  could  not  help  themselves, 
but  were  compelled  to  do  whatever  their  superiors 
commanded  them. 

The  Germans  did  themselves  great  injury  un- 
doubtedly by  their  vulgar  and  barbarous  demeanour, 
for  that  lost  them  every  claim  on  the  sympathy  of 
the  people. 

They  behaved  tolerably  well  during  the  first  few 
days  after  the  occupation  of  Tongres;  but  that  did 
not  last  long,  and  soon  they  began  here  also  to 
commit  atrocious  acts  of  terrorism.  One  evening 

95 


96   THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

at  about  the  middle  of  August  several  civilians  were 
killed,  a  dozen  houses  along  the  road  to  Maastricht 
were  fired,  and  in  the  town  the  windows  of  several 
shops  smashed,  which  was  followed  by  general  loot- 
ing. That  lost  them  whatever  sympathy  they  might 
have  met  with  in  the  district. 

On  August  1 2th  I  came  for  the  first  time  to 
Tongres.  They  had  been  there  only  a  few  days, 
and  only  near  the  town-hall  did  I  see  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  the  garrison.  Many  wounded  were  brought 
there,  and  carried  in  through  the  door  under  the 
outside  stairway.  They  came  from  Haelen,  where 
a  battle  was  being  fought  that  afternoon  and  for 
which  they  had  left  in  the  morning.  For  the  at- 
tack on  the  entrenched  Belgians  they  had  used 
cavalry  exclusively,  who  were  simply  mowed  down 
by  the  murderous  fire  from  the  hidden  mitrailleuses 
and  the  infantry  fire  from  the  trenches.  The  Ger- 
mans suffered  a  great  reverse,  and  were  deeply  em- 
bittered. 

Just  outside  Tongres  I  met  a  fleet  of  Red  Cross 
cars  loaded  with  wounded.  Cavalry  escorted  them. 
I  was  stopped  and  ordered  to  go  back,  as  they  ex- 
pected the  Belgians  to  attack  Tongres. 

I  thought  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Haelen  rather 
important,  and  should  have  liked  to  have  wired  it 
immediately  to  my  paper.  Until  now  I  had  al- 
ways gone  on  foot,  that  being  the  only  conveyance 
which  the  Germans  could  not  seize.  But  this  time 
I  preferred  a  bicycle,  as  the  only  way  to  get  to  The 
Netherlands  on  that  same  day.  So  I  tried  at  a 
couple  of  bicycle-shops  to  get  a  second-hand  one 
for  love  and  money.  At  the  first  shop  I  asked: — 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  97 

"I  suppose,  madame,  that  you  have  an  old  'bike' 
to  sell?" 

She  looked  me  up  and  down  suspiciously,  and  then 
said: 

"No,  I've  none  to  sell." 

I  did  not  fare  better  at  the  next.  There  the 
answer  was: 

"I  refuse  to  sell  'bikes'  to  Germans." 

"But,  madame,  I  am  not  German;  I  am  a  Nether- 
lander. I  should  .  .  ." 

"I  can  hear  quite  well  that  you  are  German,  and 
if  you  were  a  Netherlander  you  would  not  venture 
on  a  bike  at  this  moment.  If  you  come  here  to 
seize  my  bikes,  I'll  deliver  them,  for  I  cannot  do 
anything  against  that,  but  I  refuse  to  sell  them  of 
my  own  free-will." 

The  dear  lady  rapped  it  out  in  such  a  decided  tone 
of  voice  that  I  desisted.  I  told  my  trouble  to  the 
proprietor  of  a  cafe  where  I  took  a  glass  of  beer;  he, 
examining  my  papers,  placed  confidence  in  me,  and 
got  me  a  rickety  thing,  for  which  I  paid  twenty- 
two  francs. 

After  all,  this  was  better  than  walking,  so  I  de- 
cided to  make  a  small  detour,  go  once  more  to  Liege, 
and  see  how  the  forts  were.  I  lost  my  way  in  a  maze 
of  by-roads,  and  got  at  last  back  to  the  main  road 
near  Jupille,  where  I  met  a  patrol  of  Uhlans,  who 
came  in  my  direction  at  a  trot. 

Already  from  a  distance  with  much  fuss  they 
signalled  to  me  to  stop,  and  of  course  I  obeyed  at 
once.  Two  men  dismounted,  came  to  me  in  a 
perfect  rage,  and,  without  asking  who  I  was  or 
what  I  was  doing,  cut  my  tyres  to  pieces  in  several 


98       THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

places;  they  abused  me  with  wild  gesticulations  and 
threats,  jumped  on  their  horses,  and  rode  off.  I 
dragged  my  wretched  vehicle  with  its  stabbed  tyres 
a  little  distance,  but  then  met  a  second  patrol,  who 
showed  still  greater  indignation,  and  destroyed  it 
altogether. 

For  the  rest  of  the  journey  I  used  my  only  re- 
maining means  of  transport,  my  legs,  and  after  a 
walk  of  some  hours  got  to  the  frontier  of  The  Neth- 
erlands near  Oud-Vroenhoven.  A  Netherland  cus- 
tom-house officer  asked  for  my  papers,  and  I  showed 
him  my  huge  passport.  The  man  looked  at  the 
sheet  critically,  and  made  out  that  I  could  not  pos- 
sibly be  a  Netherlander,  as  I  was  the  holder  of  a 
"foreign"  passport. 

My  "foreign"  passport  was,  of  course,  in  French, 
of  which  language  the  man  evidently  knew  not  a 
word.  Although  I  explained  that  this  passport  was 
the  best  one  could  get  in  The  Netherlands,  that  I 
had  paid  six  guilders  and  seventy-five  cents  for  it, 
that  I  was  a  war-correspondent  of  De  Tijd,  it  was 
all  useless.  I  had  to  go  with  him  to  the  guard- 
house, and  the  man  kept  the  queer  passport — the 
damning  piece  of  evidence — firmly  in  his  hand.  All 
the  inquisitive  loafers,  of  which  the  frontier  was 
full  during  those  days,  followed  me,  and  so  we  went 
in  procession  to  the  guard-house,  at  some  distance 
from  the  frontier.  I  heard  all  sorts  of  discussions 
behind  me,  and  constantly  caught  words  like:  Ger- 
man, boche,  deserter,  franc-tireur,  spy,  and  other 
complimentary  niceties. 

As  soon  as  I  had  entered  the  guard-house  a 
soldier,  rifle  in  hand,  mounted  guard.  The  cus- 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  99 

torn-house  officer  handed  my  French  passport  to 
a  lieutenant,  who  scrutinised  it  closely.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  examination: 

"You  are  a  journalist?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"On  which  paper?" 

"De  Tijd,  sir;  here  is  my  press-card." 

"Where  is  De  Tijd  printed?" 

"In  Amsterdam.  .   .  ." 

"In  which  street?" 

"Well  .  .  . !     The  Nieuwe  Zijds  Voorburgwal." 

"All  right;  you  may  go!" 

Having  pushed  my  way  through  the  loafers,  who 
stood  waiting  before  the  house,  I  was  able  to  con- 
tinue my  journey  to  Maastricht. 

A  few  days  later  I  had  to  go  to  Canne,  a  Belgian 
hamlet  near  the  frontier,  south  of  Maastricht.  In 
the  evening  of  August  iSth  an  atrociously  bar- 
barous crime  had  been  committed  there,  a  cool- 
blooded  murder.  At  Canne  live  some  good,  kind 
Flemings,  who  would  not  hurt  a  fly.  The  kind- 
hearted  burgomaster  had,  moreover,  tried  for  days 
to  comfort  his  fellow-citizens,  and  was  for  ever 
saying: 

"Leave  everything  to  me;  I'll  invite  them  to  have 
a  glass  of  wine  with  me,  and  you  will  see  then  that 
they  are  kind  people." 

This  he  had  done.  Already  for  many  days  he  had 
treated  several  officers  to  his  best  claret. 

Tuesday  night,  August  i8th,  at  about  u  o'clock, 
a  train  of  luggage  carts  passed  through  Canne,  and 
in  the  village  the  Browning  of  one  of  the  soldiers 
in  the  last  van  went  off  suddenly.  This  was  the 


100     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

signal  for  all  Germans  to  start  shooting  indiscrim- 
inately, anywhere,  at  anything,  happily  without  hit- 
ting anybody.  A  few  tipsy  soldiers  went  to  the 
burgomaster's  house,  and  no  sooner  had  his  wife 
opened  the  door  for  the  barbarians,  when  a  shot  was 
fired,  the  bullet  passing  through  the  unfortunate 
lady's  head  into  the  wall  opposite  the  door. 
I  was  there  early  the  next  morning  and  saw  the  hole. 
It  is  evident  that  the  soldiers  ill-treated  the  dead 
lady  with  their  rifles  in  a  horrible  manner,  for  a  large 
part  of  the  wall  was  spattered  over  with  blood. 

After  having  murdered  the  burgomaster's  wife, 
the  villains  attacked  a  guest,  Mr.  Derricks,  a  law- 
yer, and  member  of  the  Provincial  States,  whom 
they  killed  with  a  bayonet.  His  wife  broke  a  leg 
when  she  tried  to  fly  to  the  cellar. 

Mr.  Derricks  lived  at  Roelanche,  but  with  his 
wife  and  seven  children  had  fled  for  security  to 
Canne,  where  he  was  hospitably  received  in  Mr. 
Poswick's,  the  burgomaster's,  house. 

When  I  got  to  the  house  everything  was  in  a 
frightful  state.  A  pair  of  curtains  showed  traces 
of  fire;  cupboards  had  been  emptied,  and  nearly  all 
the  china  and  glass  broken;  statuary  lay  broken  on 
the  floor;  windows  were  smashed;  bits  of  bricks 
and  plaster  from  the  ceilings,  through  which  many 
shots  had  been  fired,  completed  the  scene  of  des- 
truction. On  the  doorstep  I  picked  up  a  cartridge- 
case,  which  I  have  always  kept,  because  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  had  contained  the  bullet  which 
killed  Mrs.  Poswick. 

This  terrible  tragedy  took  place  at  scarcely  six 
yards  from  the  Netherland  frontier,  for  the  burgo- 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  101 

master's  house  stands  by  a  ro£.d  hjilf  Belgian  ind  half 
Netherland.  The  Netherland  soldiers  who  weie 
doing  frontier-duty  on  the  latter  part  had  to  fly 
from  the  mad  shooting  of  the  Germans.  They  hid 
behind  a  wall  that  was  quickly  full  of  bullet-holes. 
The  German  soldiers  spent  a  considerable  time  guz- 
zling the  burgomaster's  wine,  which  they  looted,  and 
afterwards  went  off  in  the  direction  of  Tongres. 

It  was  stated  later  on  that  the  German  authori- 
ties punished  the  culprits  and  had  them  executed 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle ;  De  Tijd  of  August  3ist,  1914, 
also  reported  it.  But  the  action  of  these  soldiers  was 
not  worse  than  that  of  generals  who  had  entire  cities 
destroyed  and  civilians  killed  by  the  hundred,  but 
were  always  screened  by  the  German  Government. 

On  Thursday,  August  2Oth,  I  decided  to  go  once 
more  in  the  direction  of  Tongres.  As  the  Germans 
had  picketed  the  main  road  along  the  Netherland 
frontier,  made  a  detour  and  dragged  my  bicycle 
across  the  mountain  near  Petit  Laney,  a  very  trying 
job  in  the  stifling  heat.  From  the  mountain  top 
I  had  a  beautiful  vista,  which  enabled  me  to  see  that 
near  Riemst  a  large  German  force  was  encamped 
at  which  I  desired  to  have  a  look.  So  I  walked 
down  the  hill  to  Canne,  where  some  crofters  were 
trying  to  get  their  cattle  into  The  Netherlands. 
These  poor  creatures,  who  usually  own  two  or  three 
head  of  cattle,  had  been  compelled  already  to  give 
up  half  of  their  stock.  From  Canne  I  cut  through 
corn  and  beetroot  fields  to  the  road  to  Riemst. 
The  first  German  sentinels  were  tolerably  friendly. 

"Ah,   so  you   are   a   Netherlander,   aren't  you? 


10S     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 


w;e  are  friends.  The  Netherlands  remains 
neutral,  does  she  not?  What  news  have  you  from 
there;  are  you  already  at  war  with  Britain?" 

These  and  similar  questions  were  asked  after  a 
superficial  examination  of  my  papers,  and,  having 
answered  them,  I  was  allowed  to  go  on.  But  at  a 
certain  moment  an  officer  appeared,  who  summoned 
me  to  dismount,  and  asked  for  my  papers.  After 
a  short  examination  he  ordered  a  soldier  to  take 
me  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Riemst. 

The  attitude  of  all  the  soldiers  changed  immedi- 
ately; they  looked  at  me  with  angry  eyes,  and  from 
time  to  time  I  heard  hostile  remarks.  Whenever  I 
did  not  walk  quickly  enough  or  turned  a  little  to  the 
right  or  the  left,  my  escort  pulled  me  roughly  by  the 
arm.  All  the  same  I  took  the  case  as  coolly  as 
possible,  fully  convinced  that  the  commanding 
officer  would  release  me  after  a  superficial  examina- 
tion. 

At  Riemst,  the  soldier  took,  or  rather  pummelled 
me  into  a  large  farm-house,  and  soon  I  faced  the  big- 
wigs, who  had  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as 
possible  in  a  large  room.  Several  pictures  and  en- 
gravings lay  on  the  ground  in  pieces,  whilst  numerous 
full  and  empty  wine-bottles  indicated  that  they  had 
abundantly  worshipped  at  the  shrine  of  Bacchus, 
and  intended  to  go  on  with  the  cult.  The  higher 
officers  and  the  subalterns  seemed  to  be  frantically 
busy;  at  least  they  had  violent  discussions  with  many 
gesticulations  over  a  map.  The  soldier  reported 
that  he  had  brought  me  here  by  order  of  Lieutenant 
Such  —  I  did  not  catch  the  name  —  and  then  it  began  : 

"Who  are  you?7' 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  103 

"I  am  .  .  ." 

"What  do  you  want  here — what  are  you  here 
for?" 

"I  am  a  Netherland  jour  .  .  ." 

"What!  A  Netherlander?  I  suppose  you  come 
to  see  how  many  troops  are  here,  don't  you?  And 
then  .  .  ." 

"Please  be  good  enough  to  have  a  look  at  my 
papers,  and  then  .  .  ." 

"Papers?  Papers?  Yes,  of  course  you  all  have 
papers;  all  those  villains  who  shot  at  our  men  at 
Vise  come  back  from  The  Netherlands  with  papers, 
in  order  to  start  afresh.  Later  on  I'll  have  a  look 
at  that  stuff.  Here,  lock  him  up  for  the  present." 

He  pointed  to  a  couple  of  soldiers,  and  they  laid 
hold  of  me.  They  took  me  to  a  small  room,  where 
I  was  astonished  to  find  two  soldiers  with  revolvers 
guarding  a  priest  and  a  peasant.  As  soon  as  the 
door  was  closed  behind  me  I  wished  to  chat  with 
my  fellow-prisoners,  for  even  in  prison  I  was  not 
oblivious  of  my  journalistic  duties.  But  they 
seemed  not  at  all  anxious  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  me,  and  I  soon  understood  the  reason  why. 
At  each  question  they  threw  timid  glances  at  the 
two  watch-dogs,  and  I  saw  that  fear  of  these  made 
them  withhold  all  information.  However,  after  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  I  got  to  know  that  the  priest 
was  the  parish  priest,  and  his  companion  in  misery 
the  burgomaster.  They  had  been  taken  as  hostages, 
and  would  suffer  punishment  for  acts  the  villagers 
might  eventually  commit  against  the  German 
usurpers.  I  contented  myself  with  this,  as  I  felt 


104     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

that  in  the  circumstances  further  questions  might 
make  things  awkward  for  these  two  men. 

What  might  happen  next?  Sitting  on  a  chair 
in  a  corner  of  the  room  I  began  to  consider  my 
position.  For  the  moment  it  was  not  agreeable, 
but  by  and  by  those  officers  might  find  time  to  look 
at  my  papers.  The  only  thing  I  bothered  about 
was  a  map  marked  with  the  places  where,  according 
to  the  latest  news,  the  German  and  French  armies 
were.  I  kept  it  in  an  inside  coat-pocket,  and  it 
might  be  found  if  they  should  search  me. 

I  spent  three  hours  in  the  small  room  with  my 
silent  companions.  At  last  I  was  called,  and  ap- 
peared once  more  before  the  casual  court-martial. 

"Very  well,  now  give  me  those  papers." 

Having  got  them,  several  officers  examined  my 
credentials,  and  their  faces  showed  that  the  horizon 
was  a  little  clearer  for  me. 

"Oh,  you  are  a  journalist?  And  what  came  you 
here  for?" 

"Well,  sir,  I  wanted  to  follow,  as  far  as  the  Ger- 
man Authorities  desire  to  allow  it,  the  movements 
of  the  German  armies,  in  order  to  give  reliable 
information  to  the  Netherland  public,  who  take  a 
great  interest  in  your  progress." 

"Indeed!  And  did  you  take  notes  already?  Just 
let  me  have  a  look." 

The  turn  things  took  now  was  not  quite  to  my 
liking,  and  I  did  not  feel  very  safe  when  I  handed 
him  my  scribbling-pad. 

"I  cannot  read  a  word  of  it!  Can  you  read  it  at 
all  yourself?  Yes?  Oh,  but  I  cannot  understand 
it.  Translate  some  of  it." 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  105 

That  was  a  relief!  I  began  to  translate,  taking 
the  liberties  to  which  every  translator  is  entitled. 
And  I  succeeded  in  making  a  favourable  impression 
by  censoring  my  own  manuscript. 

"Well,  that  is  right  enough.  But,  mind,  don't 
say  in  your  paper  that  you  found  troops  here,  and 
especially  avoid  telling  which  troops." 

"Very  well,  sir." 

"Nor  must  you  tell  them  that  we  detained  you 
here.  That  was  really  not  our  intention  at  all,  but 
just  now  we  had  no  time  to  examine  your  papers." 

"All  right,  sir." 

"And  what  is  the  news  in  The  Netherlands  about 
the  war?" 

"Well,  sir,  not  much  beyond  what  you  are  sure 
to  know  already:  that  Japan  declared  war  against 
Germany;  that  the  Russians  invaded  Germany;  that 
the  French  gained  some  important  victories 
in  Alsace;  that  the  German  fleet  lost  some 
ships  .  .  ." 

"Oh,  bosh!  Stop  it!  These  are,  of  course,  all 
lies  from  Reuter;  they  did  not  come  from  Wolff. 
Japan  is  not  going  to  declare  war  against  us;  much 
rather  against  Russia !" 

"Oh,  but,  sir,  Wolff  confirmed  these  reports." 

"Oh  no !  That  is  impossible,  and,  after  all,  we 
are  not  afraid  of  Japan  either.  You  had  better 
write  in  your  paper  that  we  are  not  afraid  of  any- 
thing excepting  Montenegro.  And  you  may  also 
inform  your  readers  that  it  is  better  for  Nether- 
landers  not  to  cross  the  frontier,  as  we  are  going 
to  apply  much  stricter  measures.  For  we  have  evi- 
dence that  those  people  from  Vise  and  other  villages 


106     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

who  fled  to  The  Netherlands  are  returning  with 
forged  papers,  in  order  to  shoot  at  us.  And  now 
you  may  go,  but  back  to  Maastricht  at  once." 

"But  will  you  then  please  give  me  a  pass,  other- 
wise I  may  be  detained  again  on  my  way  back." 

uOh  yes!     You  may  have  that!" 

And  the  commanding  officer  gave  me  a  pass,  on 
which  this  very  same  colonel  who  had  prohibited 
me  to  write  in  my  paper  what  troops  were  at  Riemst, 
put  a  stamp  on  that  pass,  which  contained  the 
German  eagle,  and  besfdes  this  the  words:  "Royal 
Prussian  8,  Reserve  Infantry  Regiment,  II  Bat- 
talion." This  confirmed  what  the  rumours  said,  that 
the  troops  who  had  passed  through  Vise  and  other 
places  during  the  last  days  and  committed  those 
atrocities  there,  were  the  reserves  which  had  been 
called  up,  among  whom  discipline  is  less  strict  than 
among  the  younger  men,  who  arrived  in  these  dis- 
tricts during  the  earlier  days. 

Although  I  had  been  commanded  to  return  "at 
once"  to  Maastricht,  I  succeeded  in  having  a  chat 
here  and  there  with  the  inhabitants  of  Riemst.  I 
had  visited  the  village  about  eight  days  ago,  but 
what  a  change!  Then  the  people  assured  me  that 
"die  Duutschen"  l  were  not  so  bad  after  all,  that 
they  were  compelled  to  do  their  duty,  and  were 
kind  to  the  inhabitants  if  these  were  kind  to  them. 

And  at  present?  Every  word  expressed  hate,  pro- 
found hate,  hardly  controlled.  They  trembled  all 
over  when  they  spoke  in  deep,  inspiring  voices  about 
"die  Duutschen."  l 

Everything  of  value  had  been  stolen  from  them: 

1  See  note  on  page  i. 


WITH  THE  FLEMINGS  107 

horses,  cows,  sheep,  carts,  bicycles,  everything, 
everything! — only  in  some  cases  payment  was  made 
with  tickets,  which  might  be  cashed  after  the  war. 
During  the  night  the  German  soldiers  slept  in  the 
rooms,  but  the  inhabitants — men,  women,  children, 
babies  and  sick  persons — they  locked  in  barns  and 
cellars,  which  they  boarded  up. 

I  was  not  allowed  to  return  by  bicycle,  and  left 
it  at  a  cafe  at  the  crossing  of  the  roads  to  Tongres 
and  Riemst.  A  couple  of  days  later  the  Germans 
had  already  abstracted  the  tyres. 

The  road  to  The  Netherlands  was  strewn  over 
with  empty  wine-bottles. 


CHAPTER  VII 

LIEGE  AFTER  THE  OCCUPATION 

NEXT  day  I  was  already  back  in  Liege,  where  much 
was  changed  after  my  last  visit.  The  Germans  went 
on  terrorising  the  inhabitants,  and  these,  being  ex- 
tremely frightened,  looked  with  suspicion  at  every 
stranger.  In  the  streets  was  the  smoke  of  burning 
houses,  especially  from  Outre-Meuse. 

In  every  quarter  I  met  Belgian  refugees  from  the 
south,  and  Netherlander  who  wanted  to  escape  to 
their  safe  native  country.  The  Liege  people  them- 
selves were  not  allowed  to  leave. 

Nearly  every  hour  another  proclamation  was 
posted;  and  this  made  the  people  still  more  nervous. 
One  of  them  brought  the  information  that  the  prov- 
ince of  Liege  had  to  pay  a  war-tax  of  fifty  million 
francs.  Another  forbade  the  people  to  be  out  in 
the  streets  after  six  o'clock  p.m.;  the  doors  must 
remain  open,  the  windows  show  the  lights.  Burn- 
ing and  shooting  were  threatened  if  any  more  arms 
should  be  found,  and  all  houses  were  to  be 
searched. 

Many  shops  were  closed  on  account  of  lack  of 
stock,  as  everything  had  been  requisitioned,  and  as 
yet  no  traffic  was  allowed  to  bring  in  fresh  provi- 

108 


LIEGE  AFTER  THE  OCCUPATION      109 

sions.  All  this  bother  made  the  inhabitants  dis- 
contented, but  frightened  them  at  the  same  time; 
they  grumbled  and  whispered,  and  looked  about 
with  malicious,  flaming  eyes,  but  in  mortal 
fear. 

Labourers  were  called  up  to  assist  in  reinforcing 
the  conquered  forts  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse, 
the  forts  which  by  and  by  might  be  used  to  shell 
their  fellow-countrymen,  in  case  the  Germans 
should  be  forced  to  retire.  Nobody  will  have  of- 
fered himself  for  this  work  voluntarily,  the  less  so 
as  the  proclamation  wound  up  as  follows: — 

"Des  ouvriers  volontaires  seront  embauches  a 
partir  du  21  Aout  sur  la  rive  gauche  de  la  Meuse,  ou 
on  fera  connaitre  les  conditions  detaillees": 

("Voluntary  workmen  will  be  enrolled  from  Au- 
gust 2  ist  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse,  where  de- 
tails of  the  conditions  will  be  made  known.") 

The  streets  and  squares  where  the  high  military 
officers  had  established  themselves  were  closed  by 
cordons  of  soldiers,  and  nobody  was  allowed  to  pass 
them. 

The  town  was  entirely  shut  off  from  war-  and 
other  news. 

I  informed  a  few  priests  of  the  Pope's  death, 
which  had  been  known  in  The  Netherlands  for  sev- 
eral days.  They  knew  nothing  about  it,  and  asked 
whether  I  had  any  proof  by  me.  I  gave  them  De 
Tijd  printed  with  a  black  border,  and  armed  with 
this  document  they  went  to  communicate  the  sad 
news  to  the  Right  Reverend  Rutten,  bishop  of  Liege. 

I  also  brought  consternation  to  the  nunnery  at 


110     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

which  my  cousin  lives  by  this  same  report  of  the 
Holy  Father's  demise;  and  the  good  dear  Sisters 
roamed  through  the  passages,  wringing  their  hands 
and  repeating:  "Le  Pape  est  mort! — le  Pape  est 
mort!"  ("The  Pope  is  dead!") 

I  met  a  doctor  at  this  nunnery,  who  told  me 
highly  important  news,  but  in  whispers,  because  in 
these  days  "even  walls  have  ears" :  the  Allies  had 
gained  great  victories  over  the  Germans.  As  he 
saw  by  the  expression  of  my  face  that  I  did  not 
believe  off-hand  all  he  told,  he  became  still  more 
impressive  in  manner,  and  produced  a  paper,  from 
which  he  recited: — 

"Great  German  defeat  at  Libramont — nine  thou- 
sand prisoners  taken." 

"In  Alsace  the  French  are  near  the  Rhine." 
"The    Russians    advanced  fifty   miles   into   East 
Prussia." 

In  the  same  way  the  list  went  on  for  a  goodly 
length,  and  he  became  actually  angry  when  even  then 
I  refused  to  believe  everything.  He  was  especially 
pleased  with  the  account  of  the  victory  near  Libra- 
mont. He  had  a  friend,  also  a  physician,  who  had 
been  compelled  by  the  Germans  to  go  with  them 
in  the  medical  service,  and  this  friend  had  told  him 
this  himself.  It  was  remarkable  that  educated,  su- 
perior persons  could  become  so  narrow-minded  in 
times  like  these,  and  believed  anything  simply  be- 
cause they  hoped  that  it  might  be  true. 

The  town  was  full  of  soldiers,  and  I  had  great 
trouble  to  find  lodgings.  "Tout  est  pris  par  les 
Allemands"  ("Everything  is  taken  by  the  Ger- 


LIEGE  AFTER  THE  OCCUPATION      111 

mans")  was  the  answer  I  got  everywhere,  with  the 
result  that  I  was  still  hunting  for  a  bedroom  after 
six  o'clock,  although  nobody  was  then  allowed  in 
the  streets.  I  was  stopped  at  every  turn,  and  after 
explaining  my  case  got  a  hint  to  hurry  up. 

At  last  I  found  an  hotel,  where  I  could  have  a 
small  garret,  against  which  arrangement  I  had  not 
the  slightest  objection  in  the  circumstances.  The 
cafe  downstairs  looked  rather  peculiar,  with  a  great 
number  of  looking-glasses,  and  ladies  with  powdered 
faces.  These  seemed  not  averse  to  closer  relations1 
with  me,  but  when  I  pretended  not  to  understand 
a  single  word  of  French,  they  soon  gave  it  up, 
and  showed  no  further  desire  for  my  friendship. 
But  I  could  see  quite  well  that  they  discussed  the 
question  whether  I  was  a  German  officer  or  a 
spy? 

I  went  to  bed  early,  for  that  day  I  had  again 
walked  from  Maastricht  to  Liege.  My  little  bed- 
room was  quite  in  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  had 
evidently  been  used  by  a  servant. 

About  midnight  I  was  roused  by  an  infernal  noise 
in  the  street.  People  yelled  and  screamed  most 
fearfully,  and  I  heard  rifle-shots  also. 

I  felt  not  the  slightest  inclination  to  go  and  see 
what  was  the  matter,  but  I  stretched  myself  and 
yawned,  feeling  much  more  tired  after  a  couple  of 
hours'  rest  than  when  I  went  to  bed.  The  uproar 
went  on,  and  suddenly  I  thought  that  I  also  heard 
a  hubbub  in  the  cafe  downstairs.  And,  really,  it 
came  ever  nearer.  People  rushed  up  and  down  the 
stairs,  screamed  and  yelled,  doors  were  banged,  in 
short  it  was  as  if  they  were  pulling  down  the  house. 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

Very  sleepy,  I  went  on  listening  .  .  .  listening 
.  .  .  probably  until  I  fell  asleep  again,  for  I  can- 
not remember  what  happened  after. 

I  woke  up  in  the  morning,  and  when  going  down- 
stairs saw  that  the  doors  of  all  the  rooms  stood  open, 
and  everything  inside  was  in  great  disorder.  In 
the  cafe  tables  and  chairs  were  overturned,  and 
broken  looking-glasses  lay  on  the  floor.  The  front 
door  was  also  open,  and  I  walked  away. 

And  now  the  explanation?  During  the  night  the 
Germans  had  started  house-to-house  searches,  and 
wherever  the  doors  were  not  opened  quickly  enough, 
the  soldiers  began  to  shoot.  The  inhabitants  were 
then  driven  into  the  street  amid  loud  screams  and 
cries.  It  was  also  said  that  some  persons  had  been 
shot. 

By  what  accident  had  I  not  been  disturbed?  The 
height,  perhaps,  at  which  my  miserable  little  garret- 
room  was  situated. 

The  hotel  where  I  stayed  that  night  was  called 
Hotel  de  la  Paix;  an  hotel  of  peace,  indeed ! 


CHAPTER  VIII 
LOUVAIN  DESTROYED 

As  soon  as  I  heard  about  the  horrors  that  took 
place  at  Louvain,  I  hastened  to  try  and  get  there  to 
find  out,  if  possible,  by  personal  observation  the 
truth  of  the  numberless  conflicting  stories  that  would 
undoubtedly  grow  up  from  the  facts.  I  expected 
that  the  situation  round  about  the  town  would  be 
rather  critical,  and  decided  to  proceed  cautiously. 
It  is  rather  a  long  stretch  of  nearly  forty-five  miles, 
but  I  succeeded  in  getting  to  Louvain  in  the  after- 
noon. 

The  road  itself  had  prepared  me  already  in 
some  degree  for  the  horrors  I  should  find  there. 
All  the  villages  through  which  I  passed,  excepting 
Tongres  and  the  townlets  of  St.  Trond,  Borgloon, 
and  Tirlemont,  were  for  the  greater  part  burned 
down  or  shelled  into  ruins.  The  German  troops, 
who  had  been  stoutly  resisted  during  their  march 
through  St.  Trond  and  Tirlemont,  had  attacked  in 
a  great  rage  the  civilian  population.  They  set  the 
houses  on  fire  and  aimed  their  rifles  at  the  terror- 
stricken  civilians  who  fled  from  them.  The  men 
were  nearly  all  killed,  but  women  and  children  were 
shot  as  well. 

113 


114     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

On  the  road  from  Borgloon  to  Thienen  I  had  a 
chat  with  an  old  crone,  who  stood  weeping  by  the 
ruins  of  her  miserable  little  cottage,  which  she  re- 
fused to  leave.  This  little  house,  which  strenuous 
zeal  had  enabled  her  to  buy,  was  all  she  possessed  on 
earth  besides  her  two  sons,  both  fallen  through  the 
murderous  lead  of  those  barbarians,  and  buried  in 
the  little  garden  at  the  back  of  their  ruined  home. 
Of  another  family,  living  close  by,  the  father  and 
two  sons  were  murdered  in  the  same  way. 

Between  Thienen  and  Louvain  I  met  endless 
trains  of  refugees,  exactly  like  those  I  had  seen  al- 
ready near  Vise,  Liege,  and  other  places.  These 
also  carried  their  wretched  bundles,  and  children  and 
young  people  did  their  utmost  to  encourage  and  sup- 
port their  elders  on  their  arduous  path.  All  these 
people  saluted  me  in  a  cringing,  timid  manner,  nod- 
ding smilingly  and  taking  off  their  caps  already  from 
afar. 

I  saw  some  extremely  poor  people,  very  old  and 
stiff,  to  whom  walking  was  nearly  impossible.  A 
Bavarian  soldier  escorted  them.  He  had  his  rifle 
slung  across  his  back  and  in  both  hands  carried  the 
luggage  of  the  unfortunate  creatures.  He  seemed 
to  have  come  a  long  way  already,  for  he  looked 
tired,  and  the  perspiration  ran  down  his  face.  Al- 
though it  is  only  natural  to  assist  one's  fellow- 
creatures,  this  scene  touched  me,  for  hitherto  I 
had  seen  the  Germans  commit  rough,  inhuman  deeds 
only. 

I  noticed  the  smell  of  fire  already  several  miles 
from  Louvain.  On  both  sides  of  the  road  small 
mounds  indicated  the  graves  of  soldiers  who  fell 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  115 

during  the  brave  resistance  of  the  Belgians  before 
Louvain.  A  small  wooden  cross  and  some  pieces 
of  accoutrement  were  the  only  decorations.  Car- 
cases of  horses  were  lying  in  the  fields,  from  which 
came  a  disagreeable  smell. 

The  town  was  on  fire,  and  ruddy  smoke  hovered 
over  it.  Deserted  like  a  wilderness,  not  a  soul 
moved  in  the  streets.  The  first  street  I  entered  was 
the  Rue  de  la  Station.  Large,  imposing  mansions 
used  to  stand  here,  but  the  devouring  fire  consumed 
even  the  last  traces  of  former  greatness. 

All  houses  were  on  fire,  and  every  now  and  then 
walls  fell  down  with  a  roar  of  thunder,  shrouding 
the  greater  part  of  the  street  in  a  thick  cloud  of 
suffocating  smoke  and  dust.  Sometimes  I  had  to 
run  to  escape  from  the  filthy  mass.  On  several 
walls  an  order  was  written  in  chalk  directing  the 
men  to  come  to  the  market-place  to  assist  in  ex- 
tinguishing the  fire,  and  the  women  to  stay  indoors. 
As  soon  as  the  order  had  been  obeyed  the  Germans 
drove  the  men  from  the  market  to  the  station, 
where  they  were  packed  in  trucks  like  cattle. 

Farther  on  in  the  Rue  de  la  Station  lay  nine  rot- 
ting carcases  of  horses,  the  intestines  oozing  from 
the  bodies,  and  a  greasy  substance  was  poured  over 
their  skin.  The  stench  was  unbearable  and  made 
breathing  nearly  impossible,  which  compelled  me  to 
jump  on  my  bicycle  and  escape  as  quickly  as  possible 
from  the  pestilential  surroundings. 

The  sun  was  already  setting,  and  became  still 
redder,  making  still  more  abominable  and  more  in- 
fernal the  glare  of  the  burning  town.  Nobody  moved 
about  in  this  abode  of  death. 


116     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

I  roamed  about  aimlessly  in  a  scorching  heat. 
Whither?  I  did  not  know  myself.  I  did  not  know 
Louvain  and  met  nobody  whom  I  might  ask  some- 
thing. I  came  near  a  couple  of  streets  that  were 
only  ruins;  the  walls  collapsed  against  each  other 
and  filled  the  roadway  with  rubbish,  so  chat  some- 
times I  could  not  see  whether  I  walked  on  or  beside 
the  place  where  the  houses  used  to  stand. 

Bicycling  was  of  course  out  of  the  question;  I 
shouldered  my  bicycle  and  stepped  across  the  glow- 
ing cinders,  which  singed  my  soles.  One  spot  could 
still  be  recognised  as  a  street  corner.  Three  soldiers 
emerged  there  suddenly  and  aimed  at  me  with  their 
rifles. 

I  explained  who  I  was,  and  was  then  allowed  to 
come  nearer.  They  were  drunk,  and  with  glassy 
eyes  talked  about  francs-tireurs,  the  friendship  Ger- 
mans felt  for  Netherlanders,  and  so  on.  One  of 
them  entered  the  still  burning  corner  house  and  re- 
turned with  three  bottles  of  wine,  one  a  bottle  of 
Champagne;  corks  were  drawn  and  one  of  the 
bottles  handed  to  me.  First  I  said  that  I  never 
took  wine,  then  that  the  doctor  had  forbidden  it; 
it  was  of  no  use.  The  fellow  who  held  the  bottle 
in  front  of  me  got  nasty,  and  shouted: 

"If  you  don't  drink  with  us  you  are  not  our 
friend."  At  the  same  time  he  beat  the  ground  with 
his  rifle-butt  and,  willy-nilly,  I  had  to  drink. 

Suddenly  several  shots  sounded  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  three  took  their  rifles  and  looked  round, 
somewhat  scared.  They  assured  me  that  they  would 
protect  me.  If  there  had  been  occasion  for  it,  it 
would  have  been  against  their  own  comrades,  for 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  117 

a  troop  of  soldiers  came  sailing  along,  swinging 
about  their  rifles  and  shooting  at  the  burning  houses 
as  they  walked  on,  without  rhyme  or  reason,  any- 
how and  anywhere.  These  were  drunk  also.  At 
last  I  was  able  to  shake  off  my  "friends,"  and  got 
through  another  street  into  the  market-place,  at 
the  town-hall  and  St.  Peter's  Church.  The  beautiful 
town-hall  happily  was  not  destroyed,  as  the  first 
reports  intimated,  but  St.  Peter's  had  been  dam- 
aged most  cruelly.  The  spire  had  disappeared, 
the  roof  collapsed,  windows  broken,  the  altar 
burned,  the  pulpit  badly  damaged,  and  so  forth.  The 
two  last-named  parts  were  fine  works  of  art. 

For  the  rest  most  houses  in  the  market-place  were 
on  fire.  Soldiers  were  billeted  on  one  of  the  corner 
houses,  and  I  was  of  course  detained  there,  but 
released  again,  after  having  been  requested  to  show 
up  the  francs-tireurs.  I  had  to  consider  also  where 
I  might  pass  the  night  in  this  burning  city?  I  asked 
an  officer's  consent  to  stay  the  night  with  the  sol- 
diers. He  gave  his  permission  if  I  could  get  the 
consent  of  the  commanding  officer,  whom  I  might 
find  at  the  station;  he  told  me  that  he  was  sure 
to  grant  it. 

Before  I  got  there  I  passed  the  Halls  of  Louvain, 
the  building  that  contained  the  world-famous 
library,  with  its  numerous  art-treasures.  Only  the 
outer  walls  were  left  standing,  inside  it  was  all  ruins. 
All  was  reduced  to  dust,  to  miserable  rubbish,  and 
never  will  one  single  page  be  recovered  of  all  those 
thousands  of  burned  manuscripts. 

I  was  greatly  astonished  to  see  a  little  old  man 
sitting  by  his  house,  while  all  those  in  the  neighbour- 


118     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

hood  were  burning.  His  own  dwelling  had  escaped 
without  much  damage,  and  was  only  hit  by  rifle 
bullets.  He  told  me  that  his  family  had  fled,  his 
son  with  wife  and  all  children  but  one,  a  small  boy. 
At  length  he  left  also,  but  had  lost  his  way  outside 
the  town,  and  returned  to  his  house,  where  the 
Germans  "allowed"  him  to  remain.  I  considered 
that  I  might  after  all  sleep  better  in  that  house 
than  yonder  among  the  soldiers,  and  asked  the 
little  man  whether  he  would  put  me  up  for  the 
night.  He  did  not  object  at  all;  but  in  spite  of 
my  pressing,  he  refused  absolutely  to  accept  any 
payment. 

"But,"  he  said,  "but  perhaps  you  brought  some 
bread  with  you  to  eat  on  the  road,  and  I  should 
like  to  have  a  piece  of  that  .  .  .  not  for  myself 
.  .  .  but  for  my  grandchild;  we  had  nothing  to  eat 
all  day  long,  and  the  little  boy  is  so  ...  is  so 
hungry." 

The  poor  man  wept,  and,  although  I  had  taken 
with  me  no  more  than  two  pieces  of  bread-and- 
butter,  which  I  had  not  touched  yet,  I  could  not 
bear  the  sight  of  these  poor,  hungry  things,  and 
handed  over  to  them  my  food. 

As  I  passed  a  Red  Cross  Hospital,  partly  spared, 
I  noticed  a  Flemish  doctor,  who  first  looked  at  me 
from  the  door  held  ajar,  and  then  came  nearer;  a 
strapping  young  fellow  with  a  black  beard.  After 
I  had  made  myself  known  as  a  Netherlander,  he 
was  clearly  surprised,  and  it  seemed  as  though  he 
had  a  lot  to  ask  or  to  tell.  I  expected  to  hear  a 
torrent  of  abuse  against  the  Huns,  who  had  de- 
stroyed everything,  and  murdered  so  many  innocent 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  119 

people,  or  a  lament  about  the  valuable  treasures 
of  the  library,  which  also  had  not  been  spared; 
but  no,  other  thoughts  occupied  his  mind.  With 
a  slightly  trembling  voice  he  asked: 

"Ah  well,  you  come  from  The  Netherlands;  tell 
me  whether  it  is  true  that  you  have  let  the  Ger- 
mans through,  allowing  them  to  ravish  us?  Tell 
me  whether  this  is  true?" 

The  man  became  quite  excited,  and  took  hold  of 
my  sleeve.  He  looked  me  straight  in  the  face,  as 
if  he  wanted  to  find  out  by  the  expression  of  my 
eyes  whether  I  spoke  the  truth.  I  could  easily 
stand  the  scrutinising  look,  for  I  knew  too  well  how 
utterly  false  those  suspicions  were.  So  I  replied 
with  great  emphasis: 

"I  know  that  those  rumours  have  been  spread 
about,  but  also  that  they  were  contradicted  by  Bel- 
gian officials.  I  know  also,  and  can  affirm  it  from 
my  own  personal  observation,  that  there  is  not  a 
single  word  of  truth  in  those  accusations,  for  I 
passed  the  early  days  of  the  war  in  the  district  where 
the  fight  was  going  on." 

The  good  man's  face  became  quite  cheerful,  he 
grasped  my  hand,  deeply  moved,  and,  pressing  it 
warmly,  said: 

"Ah,  well,  I  am  sincerely  glad  to  hear  that.  You 
cannot  believe  what  awful  sorrow  it  gave  us, 
Flemings,  when  we  heard  that  the  Netherlanders 
were  conspiring  with  the  Germans." 

The  doctor  now  became  more  communicative  on 
other  matters.  According  to  him  the  Germans  con- 
tended that  the  inhabitants  had  been  shooting  from 
windows  and  cellars,  in  order  to  prevent  the  garri- 


120     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

son  from  assisting  their  comrades,  who  were  fighting 
a  battle  against  the  Belgians  at  a  distance  of  about 
four  miles  and  a  half  from  the  town.  Such  an 
organised  action  of  the  inhabitants,  under  the 
tyrannical  rule  of  the  Germans  during  the  eight 
days  before  the  destruction,  he  called  impossible,  and 
therefore  the  whole  accusation  absurd.  At  any  rate 
they  had  felt  that  the  destruction  was  coming,  and 
had  been  planned  systematically,  for  during  those 
eight  days  the  Germans  had  plundered  the  popula- 
tion, and  taken  from  them  all  bread,  even  what 
they  required  to  feed  themselves. 

To  avenge  this  alleged  shooting  by  civilians  the 
fires  had  been  kindled  in  the  houses,  maxims  placed 
in  the  streets,  women  and  children  beaten,  men  im- 
prisoned or  murdered. 

The  discovery  by  the  Germans  of  so-called  depots 
of  Belgian  rifles,  each  rifle  labelled  with  the  name 
of  a  citizen,  was  a  gigantic  "misunderstanding." 
Already  before  the  Germans  occupied  the  town  the 
burgomaster  had  issued  an  order  that  all  arms  should 
be  delivered.  The  inhabitants  had  obeyed,  and  the 
rifles  were  provided  with  a  card,  so  that  each 
might  be  returned  to  the  lawful  owner  after  the 
war.  This  collection  of  arms  has  been  used  by 
the  Germans  as  evidence  of  an  organised  revolt  of 
the  citizens. 

When  I  told  the  doctor  that  I  had  to  go  to  the 
station,  he  explained  to  me  how  I  could  get  there 
without  walking  across  red  hot  cinders,  and  I  fol- 
lowed his  advice.  I  walked  through  quarters  which 
used  to  be  the  pride  of  the  city,  but  were  now  turned 
into  heaps  of  rubbish. 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED 

They  made  also  sad  havoc  of  the  Boulevard  de 
Namur.  Many  mansions  of  the  aristocracy  had 
been  destroyed  and  many  people  killed.  There 
were  corpses  still  lying  on  the  Boulevard  as  I  passed, 
all  in  a  state  of  decay.  The  smell  was  unbearable 
and  the  sight  loathsome,  especially  when  I  saw 
several  drunken  soldiers  insulting  the  bodies  of  these 
unfortunate  people. 

In  the  flowerbeds  in  front  of  the  station  many 
corpses  had  been  buried,  especially  those  of  soldiers 
who  had  been  killed  in  the  fight  near  Louvain. 
The  station  itself  was  well  guarded,  but,  thanks  to 
my  passport  and  resolute  manner,  I  gained  admis- 
sion and  was  finally  ushered  into  the  presence  of 
the  man  who  is  responsible  for  the  destruction  of 
Louvain,  Von  Manteuffel. 

I  had  expected  to  meet  a  terrible  creature,  but 
must  admit  that  he  was  as  kind  as  possible.  As 
soon  as  he  had  learned  from  my  papers  that  I  was 
a  Netherland  journalist,  he  jumped  up  and  stood 
in  the  attitude  as  though  he  saw  in  me  the  personi- 
fication of  the  Kaiser.  He  already  probably  felt 
the  pangs  of  remorse,  and  now  wanted  to  try  and 
justify  himself  as  far  as  possible  in  the  eyes  of  the 
public. 

He  stated  that  the  cause  of  the  destruction  was 
the  necessity  of  punishment,  because  Belgian  soldiers 
in  civilian  dress  had  stayed  behind  in  Louvain, 
waiting  to  attack  the  German  army  from  behind  at 
the  first  favourable  opportunity.  They  thought 
that  their  chance  had  come  when  for  a  short  time 
the  German  troops  had  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
fortified  camp  of  Antwerp  to  take  their  share  in  a 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

fight  near  Louvain.  Von  Manteuffel  thought  that 
by  attacking  the  troops  in  the  town  the  Belgians 
hoped  to  prevent  the  Louvain  garrison  from  assist- 
ing their  comrades. 

He  did  not  seem  to  mind  much  the  destruction 
of  the  Halls  with  their  world-famous  wealth  of 
books;  anyway  he  spoke  about  it  in  an  unconcerned 
tone.  But  he  seemed  to  attach  great  importance 
to  the  safety  of  the  town-hall.  He  said  that  when 
the  buildings  adjoining  the  town-hall  began  to  burn, 
he  had  them  blown  up  in  order  to  keep  the  fire 
away  from  the  beautiful  monument. 

As  darkness  was  coming  on  I  asked  him  whether 
it  was  not  dangerous  to  pass  the  night  in  the  house 
of  that  little  old  man,  whom  I  mentioned  above. 
He  saw  nothing  dangerous  in  it,  as  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  town  was  deserted,  and  no  attack  need 
be  feared. 

So  I  thought  that  I  might  chance  it.  The  house 
was  some  distance  from  the  station,  near  the  railway 
line;  opposite  stood  a  sort  of  goods  station  guarded 
by  six  soldiers.  Before  entering  the  house  I  had 
a  chat  with  them,  for  I  thought  that  if  I  explained 
my  position  and  told  them  that  the  commanding 
officer  gave  me  permission  to  pass  the  night  in  that 
house,  I  should  be  much  safer  if  anything  should 
happen  during  the  night,  because  they  knew  then 
that  they  had  to  deal  with  a  neutral  journalist. 
They  might  moreover  warn  me  should  the  fire  that 
was  raging  all  around  reach  that  house.  So  I  told 
the  whole  story  to  these  fellows,  who  were  also  more 
than  half  drunk,  showed  them  my  passports,  gave 
them  some  cigars,  and  after  a  friendly  chat  went 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED 

to  the  old  man  who  was  to  put  me  up  for  the 
night. 

There  was  of  course  no  gas  lit,  and  there  was  no 
paraffin  lamp  in  the  house.  I  was  shown  to  my  room 
by  the  dim  light  of  a  candle.  The  old  man  could 
hardly  get  up  the  stairs,  as  he  was  trembling  all 
over  in  consequence  of  the  days  passed  in  fear  and 
dread.  The  ceiling  of  my  bedroom  had  been  pierced 
by  bullets,  and  the  fragments  covered  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  bed,  which  had  not  been  made  after 
it  was  last  used.  The  unaccustomed  work  of  strip- 
ping and  making  the  bed  was  soon  finished,  and 
I  was  hardly  ready  when  a  soldier  entered  at  the 
door,  which  had  to  be  left  open  by  order,  and 
shouted  from  the  bottom  of  the  staircase  that  I 
was  not  allowed  to  have  a  light,  and  must  blow  out 
my  candle. 

I  was  soon  fast  asleep,  tired  out  by  my  bicycle 
ride  of  that  day  of  about  forty-five  miles,  and  my 
wanderings  through  Liege.  But  my  rest  was  not  to 
be  a  long  one.  At  about  ten  o'clock  I  was  awakened 
by  a  great  noise  on  the  stairs,  and  was  surprised  to 
see  six  armed  soldiers  in  my  room.  That  is  not 
exactly  a  pleasant  manner  of  waking  up  after  so 
short  a  sleep.  They  informed  me  in  a  gruff  voice 
that  I  had  to  get  up,  to  dress  and  follow  them.  As 
I  obeyed  the  order,  I  asked  what  gave  me  this  un- 
expected honour;  but  they  refused  to  enlighten  me 
on  that  point. 

After  I  had  dressed  in  their  presence,  they 
searched  all  my  pockets,  and  felt  all  over  my  body 
to  find  out  whether  I  had  any  arms  concealed  about 
me.  Then  three  soldiers  went  downstairs,  I  had  to 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

follow  these,  and  the  other  three  came  in  the  rear.  I 
did  not  understand  at  all  of  what  capital  crime  I 
was  suspected  which  made  it  necessary  to  have  me 
arrested  by  six  soldiers  armed  to  the  teeth. 

We  waited  in  the  street  for  two  of  the  soldiers 
who  went  to  fetch  the  old  man.  After  waiting  a 
good  while  the  poor  wretch  appeared  between  them. 
He  wept  profusely,  and  between  his  loud  sobs  af- 
firmed repeatedly  that  he  was  innocent,  that  he  did 
not  know  me,  that  I  told  him  I  was  a  Netherland 
journalist,  and  so  on,  and  so  on :  "Oh,  gentlemen ! — 
oh,  gentlemen!"  he  exclaimed,  "I  must  not  leave  my 
little  boy  .  .  .  my  laddie;  ...  he  is  quite  alone. 
.  .  .  Oh,  let  me  go!"  .  .  . 

I  pitied  him  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  and 
tried  to  console  him  by  remarking  that  it  was  all  a 
misunderstanding,  and  that  I  would  see  to  it  that 
he  would  soon  be  released. 

"Come  now  quietly,"  I  said;  "so  much  the  sooner 
you  will  be  back  with  your  laddie." 

But  he  did  not  take  any  notice  of  all  my  exhorta- 
tions and  was  entirely  impervious  to  them  in  his 
grief.  So  I  went  to  the  station  side  By  side  with 
the  weeping  man,  and  surrounded  by  the  six  soldiers. 
The  crackle  of  the  flames,  the  sound  of  collapsing 
houses  seemed  more  terrifying  in  the  night  than 
in  day-time,  and  now  and  again  I  got  a  shock  when 
suddenly,  by  the  uncertain  light  of  the  flames,  I  saw 
the  corpse  of  a  civilian  lying  in  the  dark  shade  of 
the  tall  trees  on  the  Boulevard. 

Whenever  our  escort  fancied  that  they  saw  some- 
thing, they  stopped  and  called  out  to  the  supposed 
approaching  persons:  "Who  goes  there ?"  Some- 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  125 

times  it  was  only  some  shrubs  that  they  saw;  at 
other  times  patrolling  German  soldiers.  "Parole?" 
was  asked:  "Duisburg!"  and  after  that  answer  they 
came  nearer.  At  the  station  I  was  taken  to  an  of- 
ficer who  sat  at  a  table  .on  the  platform  and  had 
lit  up  his  nearest  surroundings  by  means  of  a  paraffin- 
lamp.  My  little  old  man  wept  now  so  badly  that 
he  was  quite  unmanageable,  and  the  officer 
made  up  his  mind  to  get  rid  of  him  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

"Tell  me,  father,"  he  began,  "did  you  allow 
this  man  by  your  side  to  stay  the  night  at  your 
house?" 

"Oh  ...  oh  ...  let  me  ...  go  to  my  laddie 
...  let  me  go  ...  oh  ...  oh  ..." 

"Yes,  all  right,  you  may  go,  but  we  only  want 
you  to  tell  us  what  you  know  of  this  man." 

"Oh — oh  ...  I  don't  understand  you  ...  let 
me  go  ...  my  little  boy  .  .  .  we  have  nothing  to 
eat  ...  we  are  innocent  ...  I  do  not  know  the 
gentleman  ...  oh  ...  oh !" 

I  took  the  liberty  to  explain  to  the  officer  that 
the  man  did  not  understand  him,  and  stated  that 
he  did  not  know  me. 

"Then,  why  did  you  want  to  stay  at  the  man's 
house? — what  brought  you  here?" 

Thus  my  examination  opened.  I  told  him  every- 
thing from  beginning  to  end,  also  that  the  command- 
ing officer  had  given  me  permission  to  stay  at  that 
house,  that  I  had  shown  my  papers  to  the  soldiers 
at  the  goods  station  opposite  the  house,  and  that  I 
did  not  understand  why  I  should  be  put  to  all  this 
inconvenience. 


1*6  THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

He  explained  to  me  that  one  of  those  soldiers 
accused  me  of  ...  spying  and  arson.  He  had 
thought  to  recognise  in  me  a  person  who  had  asked 
him  that  afternoon  whether  he  was  ...  a  Belgian 
or  a  German  soldier,  and  whom  he  had  also  seen 
escaping  from  a  factory  which  was  in  full  blaze  a 
moment  later. 

Highly  indignant,  I  claimed  of  course  that  that 
soldier  should  also  be  called;  but  I  was  told  that 
I  had  better  assume  a  more  modest  tone.  I  then 
asked  to  be  taken  to  the  commanding  officer,  whom 
I  had  seen  that  afternoon;  but  he  was  away  on 
inspection  or  something,  and  would  not  return  before 
the  next  morning. 

After  this  the  officer  examined  my  papers  care- 
fully one  by  one,  and  had  to  admit  that  they  were 
in  perfect  order.  Still,  he  had  no  authority  to  take 
a  decision  before  I  had  been  seen  by  the  command- 
ing officer. 

The  old  man  was  allowed  to  go  home,  escorted 
by  the  same  soldiers.  At  the  very  moment  that 
he  was  about  to  leave,  I  happened  to  notice  on  the 
platform  a  gigantic  heap  of  loaves,  brought  in  by 
train  for  the  soldiers. 

"Do  you  know,"  I  asked  the  officer,  "that  this 
old  man  and  his  grandchild  are  starving?  He  put 
me  up  because  I  gave  him  a  couple  of  pieces  of 
bread-and-butter  for  the  child."  He  looked  at  me 
somewhat  crossly,  but  inquired  all  the  same  whether 
my  information  was  correct,  and  then  gave  the 
old  man  two  loaves,  which  dried  his  tears  imme- 
diately, and  for  which  he  thanked  the  donor  in  a 
quivering  voice. 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  127 

Two  soldiers  now  took  everything  I  had  in  my 
pockets,  even  my  watch  and  my  purse.  This 
brought  also  to  light  a  German  map  of  Belgium, 
with  a  stamp  "For  military  use  only."  I  was  told 
in  a  gruff  voice  that  this  was  a  highly  suspicious 
thing,  and  that  they  could  not  understand  how  it 
got  into  my  possession.  I  replied  quite  coolly  that 
I  had  bought  the  thing  in  Aix-la-Chapelle  for  one 
mark,  where  it  could  be  had  in  many  shops,  and 
that  the  words  "For  the  military  only"  merely  re- 
vealed the  shrewd  German  commercial  instinct, 
which  knows  that  people  always  like  to  possess  things 
which  are  not  meant  for  them. 

I  believe  that  this  made  him  angry;  at  least  he 
ordered  me  to  take  off  my  shoes  also,  and  their 
inside  was  carefully  examined. 

I  was  now  escorted  to  a  spot  where  on  some  straw 
several  soldiers  were  sleeping,  who  had  to  do  sentry- 
go  at  two  o'clock  that  night.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
platform  which  was  not  even  roofed,  and  entirely 
under  the  open  sky.  But  they  anyway  had  straw 
to  lie  on,  and  sufficient  cover,  but  I  had  to  lie  down 
between  them  on  the  flags,  without  any  blanket.  A 
separate  sentry  was  commanded  to  watch  me;  every 
two  hours  another  was  charged  with  the  task.  I 
was  allowed  to  try  and  sleep,  with  the  warning 
that  I  should  be  shot  at  the  slightest  attempt  to 
escape. 

It  was  a  chilly  night,  and  a  dense  heavy  fog  made 
it  impossible  to  see  anything.  .  .  .  My  "bed- 
fellows" raged  and  fumed  at  me,  saying  that  I  was 
one  of  those  villains  who  had  treacherously  shot  at 
them.  I  shivered  from  the  cold,  and  felt,  as  it  were, 


128     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  dampness  of  the  wet  stone  floor  entering  my 
system. 

While  all  the  others  were  denouncing  me,  one 
soldier  was  ready  to  believe  that  I  was  a  peaceful 
foreign  journalist,  and  that  all  the  misunderstand- 
ing would  disappear  the  next  morning  as  soon  as  I 
should  be  taken  to  the  commanding  officer.  He  took 
pity  on  me,  and  got  a  thick  soldier's  coat  for  me  as 
cover.  I  still  feel  grateful  to  the  man  for  it !  But 
sleep  was  out  of  the  question  on  that  wet  floor,  in 
the  dense  fog.  When  the  guard  was  changed  and 
soldiers  came  back,  or  others  went,  they  could  not 
see  in  the  dark  where  they  went,  and  treated  me  to 
a  kick  against  my  head  or  some  other  part  of  my 
body. 

It  was  a  fantastic  night.  Trains  arrived  out  of 
the  foggy  darkness,  their  screeching  whistle  resound- 
ing from  the  far  distance,  and  when  they  steamed 
into  the  station  a  storm  of  noise  arose.  All  these 
trains  brought  British  prisoners  of  war,  captured 
by  the  Germans  at  St.  Quentin,  and  hundreds  of 
German  soldiers  escorted  the  trains,  which  were 
all  covered  over  with  green  branches,  and  looked 
like  copse-wood  sliding  along  the  railroad.  As  soon 
as  they  rumbled  into  the  station  the  escorts  sang 
loudly  their  patriotic  songs,  and  "Germany  before 
all  other!"  ("Deutschland  iiber  Alles!")  vibrated 
through  the  fog. 

The  soldiers  lying  round  about  me,  and  those  in 
other  parts  of  the  station,  got  up,  shouting,  "There 
are  the  British,"  and  ran  towards  the  arriving  trains. 
They  jeered  at  the  beaten  enemies  in  all  sorts  of 
vulgar  and  filthy  words,  which  made  the  German 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  129 

enthusiasm  absolutely  lacking  in  chivalry.  Eight 
trains  with  captured  British  arrived  during  that 
night. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  taken  to 
the  commanding  officer,  and  was  glad  to  see  him 
again.  He  jumped  up  immediately  and  came  to 
me  with  a  charming  smile,  when  I  pointed  to  my 
escort  and  explained  that  I  was  a  prisoner. 

He  flushed  red  with  anger,  and  asked  the  sergeant 
what  it  all  meant.  The  latter  told  the  story  and 
I  filled  in  some  details. 

He  showed  the  most  profound  indignation,  and 
offered  his  apologies  with  lively  gestures.  He  said 
that  my  papers  proved  quite  clearly  that  I  was  a 
Netherland  journalist.  He  declined  to  allow  any 
further  examination,  and  gave  the  peremptory  order 
that  everything  that  had  been  taken  away  from  me 
should  be  returned  at  once.  When  I  had  put  every- 
thing in  my  pockets,  he  asked: 

"Have  they  given  you  back  everything?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  I  replied,  "excepting  my  pocket- 
knife." 

"Where  is  that  knife?"  Von  Manteuffel  asked  the 
sergeant  who  had  fetched  my  belongings. 

"But  that  is  a  weapon,  general !" 

"Return  that  knife  at  once!" 

The  general  expatiated  once  more  on  the  francs- 
tireurs  of  Louvain,  and  asked  me  to  explain  in  my 
papers  without  fail  that  the  citizens  had  to  thank 
themselves  for  what  had  happened.  The  sergeant 
who  had  taken  me  to  him  was  ordered  to  escort  me, 
that  I  might  not  have  any  further  trouble  with  the 
soldiers  in  the  city. 


130     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

I  started  on  my  return  journey  to  The  Nether- 
lands sick  to  death.  The  consequences  of  lying  on 
that  wet  floor  made  themselves  badly  felt,  and  be- 
sides being  quite  stiff  and  chilly,  my  interior  was 
badly  out  of  order. 

Many  refugees  returned  to  Louvain  that  morning 
simply  driven  by  hunger.  I  myself  lived  still  on 
the  breakfast  I  had  at  Maastricht  on  the  previous 
day,  and  badly  wanted  something  to  eat,  but  still 
more  a  cup  of  hot  coffee,  to  warm  my  chilled  body. 
I  was  able  to  get  the  coffee — without  milk  or  sugar 
— from  a  peasant  along  the  road,  but  food  was  out 
of  the  question.  Most  of  the  people  had  nothing 
left,  others  saved  a  piece  of  bread  as  hard  as  a 
brick  for  the  moment  when  hunger  might  drive  them 
to  extreme  distress.  Whatever  sums  I  offered,  noth- 
ing could  be  had  before  I  came  to  Tirlemont,  where 
I  was  able  to  buy  three  eggs. 

I   had   a   rather   amusing  meeting   at  Tongres, 
with  a  Netherland  colleague,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  Louvain. 

"Where  do  you  come  from?"  was  his  first  ques- 
tion. 

"From  Louvain!" 

"Have  you  been  there  already?  I  am  going 
there  too.  How  are  things  there?" 

"Have  you  got  anything  for  me  to  eat?"  I  asked, 
not  heeding  his  words. 

I  said  it  quite  innocently,  without  any  other  de- 
sire beyond  that  of  taking  off  the  edge  of  my  really 
trying  hunger.  But  the  effect  of  my  question  was 
surprising  indeed.  He  looked  at  me  dumbfounded, 
and  asked: 


LOUVAIN  DESTROYED  131 

"But  where  did  you  stay  then  during  the  night?" 

"I  have  been  arrested." 

"And  did  you  not  get  anything  to  eat?" 

"No!" 

He  was  back  in  The  Netherlands  before  me. 


CHAPTER  IX 
LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST 

THE  next  day  at  Maastricht  I  tried  to  cure  the  evil 
results  of  that  night  on  the  damp  floor  in  Louvain 
by  eating  great  quantities  of  rice  and  drinking  much 
cocoa  with  liberal  doses  of  cinnamon,  but  as  it  was 
of  no  avail,  I  started  again  the  next  morning. 

The  majority  of  the  refugees  returning  to  Lou- 
vain  belonged  to  the  lower  classes,  and  they  began 
to  loot  and  plunder  the  town,  encouraged  thereto 
by  the  German  soldiers,  who  threw  the  things  into 
the  streets,  and  said:  "Take  it,  if  you  like!"  In 
extenuation  of  the  looting  and  plundering  I  might 
say  that  the  poor  wretches  tried  before  all  to  get 
hold  of  half-burned  eatables. 

During  my  first  visit  I  estimated  the  number  of 
civilian  victims  at  about  eighty.  This  number 
turned  out  to  be  larger,  as  many  during  the  second 
fire  fled  to  their  cellars,  exits  of  which  were  however 
choked  up  by  the  collapsing  walls.  The  corpses 
of  numerous  suffocated  citizens  were  found  in  these 
cellars. 

At  many  monasteries  I  heard  painful  details  of 
the  treatment  suffered  by  priests.  The  majority 
were  made  prisoners,  and  many  were  tied  to  trees 
during  a  whole  night  and  afterwards  released. 
Several  were  killed.  I  heard,  for  example,  at  the 

132 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     133 

convent  of  the  Jesuits  that  a  student  of  theology, 
Eugene  Dupiereux,  had  been  murdered,  simply  be- 
cause he  was  found  to  have  kept  a  diary  of  the  war 
in  which  he  had  expressed  a  rather  unfavourable 
opinion  about  the  Germans.  In  the  same  manner 
two  Josephite  brothers  were  murdered,  who  later 
on  were  found  to  be  Germans ;  of  other  priests  who 
had  been  killed,  the  names  were  not  yet  known. 

Many  clerical  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Uni- 
versity had  been  ill-treated  in  the  most  atrocious 
manner.  The  architect  Lenertz,  a  native  of  Luxem- 
burg, also  connected  with  the  University,  had  been 
shot,  for  no  reason  at  all,  before  the  eyes  of  his 
wife  at  the  moment  that  he  left  the  house.  And 
Louvain  was  so  effectively  cut  off  from  the  outer 
world  that  in  most  convents  I  was  asked  whether 
the  rumour  was  true  that  the  Pope  was  dead! 
And  at  that  time  his  successor  had  already  been  ap- 
pointed. 

I  succeeded  in  laying  my  hands  on  an  original 
copy  of  a  proclamation  that  ought  not  to  have  been 
posted  before  the  following  day.  I  took  the  docu- 
ment with  me  to  The  Netherlands,  and  it  is  of  spe- 
cial interest,  because  in  it  the  Germans  admit  to 
have  tyrannised  the  people,  and  to  have  not  only 
burned  Louvain,  but  also  ransacked  the  town.  The 
proclamation  had  been  drawn  up  in  concert  with  the 
German  authorities  and  was  approved  by  them.  It 
was  in  French  and  in  Flemish,  and  read  as  follows: 

"PROCLAMATION 

"To  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  Louvain 
"We  have  in  vain  visited  our  municipal  repre- 


134     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

sentatives.  The  last  of  them,  Alderman  Schmidt, 
who  was  prevented  from  fulfilling  his  office, 
surrendered  to  us  the  municipal  power  on  August 
30th. 

"I  believe  that  it  is  my  duty  to  take  that  task  upon 
me,  assisted  by  some  well-known  burgesses,  who  have 
undertaken  to  stand  by  me. 

"In  agreement  with  the  German  Military  author- 
ity I  invite  the  inhabitants  of  Louvain  to  return  to 
the  city,  and  to  take  up  again  their  usual  occupa- 
tions. 

"The  orders  issued  by  Monsieur  Collins  remain 
valid. 

"I  mention  more  especially: — 

"i.  That  it  is  prohibited  to  be  out  of  doors  after 
seven  o'clock  (Belgian  time)  in  the  evening. 

"2.  That  all  who  are  in  possession  of  any  arms, 
of  whatever  description,  or  any  munition  must  at 
once  deliver  everything  at  the  town-hall. 

"3.  That  everything  that  may  appear  hostile  to 
the  German  army  must  be  avoided  with  the  utmost 
care. 

"The  German  military  authority  have  promised 
us  that  on  these  conditions  no  further  burning  and 
looting  shall  take  place  and  that  the  population  shall 
no  longer  be  threatened  or  embarrassed. 

"We  are  engaged  now  most  actively  upon  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  municipal  services:  Police, 
Municipal  Register,  and  the  Services  of  the  Canals, 
which  services  will  all  be  reopened  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

"The  police  service  will  be  performed  in  the  day- 
time by  some  volunteers,  who  will  wear  an  armlet  in 
the  municipal  colours,  and  an  identity  card,  both 
officially  stamped.  Well-minded  persons,  who  are 
willing  to  perform  these  duties,  are  urgently  re- 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     135 

quested  to  present  themselves  at  the  town-hall  to-day 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

uThe  acting  burgomaster,  A.  NERINCX. 

"The  town-clerk,  EUG.  MARGUERY. 

"The  committee  of  burgesses!  DR.  BOINE, 
Pastor  CLAES,  DR.  P.  DEBAISIEUX,  DR.  DECO- 

NINCK,    CH.    DE    LA    VALLEE-POUSSIN,    MON- 

SEIGNEUR   DEPLOIGNE,  P.   HELLEPUTTE,  A. 
THIERY,   DR.  TITS,  L.  VERHELST,  V.  VIN- 

GEROEDT. 
"LOUVAIN, 
"September  ist,  1914." 

Pastor  Claes,  mentioned  in  the  above  proclama- 
tion, has  done  very  much  for  the  miserable  Lou- 
vain  population ;  they  owe  him  especially  much  grati- 
tude for  an  act  of  devotion  with  regard  to  the  mur- 
dered victims. 

In  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  railway 
station  a  house  was  being  built,  of  which  only  the 
foundations  were  laid.  The  place  showed  nothing 
beyond  a  huge  cavity.  I  had  noticed  already  several 
times  that  there  was  an  atrocious  stench  near  the 
station,  which  at  last  became  unendurable.  Pastor 
Claes,  who  courageously  entered  all  destroyed  houses 
to  look  for  the  dead,  had  discovered  the  victims  also 
in  this  place.  In  the  cave  just  mentioned  he  found 
sixteen  corpses  of  burghers,  two  priests  among  them. 
In  order  to  remove  them  from  the  street  the  Ger- 
mans had  simply  thrown  them  into  that  cave,  with- 
out covering  the  corpses  in  any  way.  They  had  been 
lying  there  for  days,  and  were  decaying  rapidly. 

I  witnessed  Pastor  Claes's  labours  for  a  moment 
only,  for  the  smell  was  unbearable  even  at  a  some- 


136     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

what  considerable  distance.  The  good  pastor  perse- 
vered in  the  work  after  having  started  it,  with  the 
assistance  of  some  faithful  helpers,  who  all  of 
them  had  sealed  their  mouths  with  a  sponge  soaked 
in  some  disinfectant.  The  corpses  were  taken  from 
the  cave,  money  and  documents  put  away  in  sep- 
arate bags,  and  the  unfortunate  owners  coffined  and 
blessed. 

During  the  next  days  I  found  a  hospitable  domicile 
at  the  convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  on  the  Namur 
Canal  ("Naamsche  Vest").  It  is  a  seminary  for 
missionaries,  and  when  I  went  to  them  for  the  first 
time  I  had  a  letter  from  their  head,  the  "provincial" 
in  The  Netherlands,  who  sent  the  order  that  all  the 
theological  students  should  be  transferred  to  The 
Netherlands  as  quickly  as  possible.  They  received 
me  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  ever  since  I  en- 
joyed their  hospitality. 

A  short  time  after  the  destruction  I  was  even 
obliged  to  accept  it  for  a  whole  week,  as  on  the 
same  day  on  which  I  arrived  in  Louvain  for  another 
visit  there  was  renewed  fighting  round  the  town. 
The  Belgians  had  advanced  as  far  as  Rotselair, 
where  the  next  day  they  held  their  ground  against 
overwhelmingly  superior  numbers;  but  at  last  they 
had  to  retire,  leaving  a  great  many  dead  behind.  The 
Belgians  had  even  got  on  to  the  road  Tirlemont- 
Louvain,  and  blown  up  the  railway  line  in  two  places. 

On  that  occasion  the  Germans  arrested  me  at 
about  two  miles  from  Tirlemont.  Firstly,  because 
I  travelled  by  bicycle,  and  secondly,  because  I  was 
accused  of  having  "cooked"  one  of  my  passports. 

This  was  so  far  true  that  I  had  altered  the  dates 


I  \ 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     137 

of  a  passport,  which  allowed  me  to  stay  in  Louvain 
from  September  6th  till  the  i4th,  into  the  8th  and 
the  1 6th.  When  taken  to  the  commanding  officer 
in  Tirlemont,  I  convinced  him  so  thoroughly  of  my 
complete  innocence,  that  the  next  day  I  was  allowed 
to  go  on  to  Louvain. 

There  the  German  authorities  detained  me  for  a 
full  week,  by  prohibiting  me  to  return:  "for  the  sake 
of  your  own  safety,"  they  told  me  courteously.  Dur- 
ing the  day  I  was  busy  enough,  and  in  the  evenings 
I  enjoyed  the  pleasant  company  of  the  three  fathers 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  who  had  remained  in  the  mis- 
sion house,  and  with  whose  photographic  instrument 
I  took  many  a  snapshot  of  the  Louvain  ruins. 

The  mission  house  had  become  a  sanctuary  for  a 
good  many  people.  As  bread  was  lacking,  two 
brothers  fried  pancakes  all  day  long  and  distributed 
them  among  the  numberless  persons  who  asked  for 
food.  Among  these  were  people  who  a  few  days 
earlier  belonged  to  the  well-to-do,  but  who  saw  their 
business,  in  which  often  more  than  their  own  capital 
was  invested,  wrecked  by  fire,  and  were  now  obliged 
to  appeal  to  the  charity  of  these  monks.  Indeed 
during  the  first  weeks  after  that  terrible  event  many 
starved,  and  I  assisted  often  at  the  distribution  of 
the  pancakes,  because  they  were  short-handed. 

In  this  grand  old  monastery,  both  inside  and  out 
a  jewel  of  architecture,  about  five  hundred  people 
had  found  shelter.  They  were  lodged  in  halls, 
rooms,  and  kitchens.  The  fathers  gave  them  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  food  they  might  require,  but 
they  had  to  do  their  own  cooking.  As  not  one  of 
these  people  had  a  home  left,  which  they  could  call 


138     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

their  own,  no  wonder  that  they  greatly  admired  the 
fathers.  Often  when  I  strolled  about  with  one  of 
these,  one  or  other  of  the  refugees  came  to  him  to 
press  his  hand  and  express  gratitude  for  the  hos- 
pitality offered. 

In  this  way  I  got  into  conversation  with  a  middle- 
aged  lady.  Her  husband  had  been  shot,  and  she  got 
a  bullet  in  her  arm,  which  had  to  be  amputated  in 
consequence.  The  poor  creature  had  lost  all 
courage,  and  lived  on  her  nerves  only.  It  was 
remarkable  to  hear  this  father  find  the  right  words, 
and  succeed  in  making  her  calm  and  resigned.  Be- 
fore she  left  us,  she  had  promised  that  for  her 
children's  sake  she  would  do  all  in  her  power  to 
control  herself. 

During  the  week  of  my  compulsory  stay  in  Lou- 
vain  I  had  also  the  privilege  of  making  the  acquaint- 
ance of  two  brave  compatriots;  I  mean  Professor 
Noyons  and  his  wife. 

They  never  left  Louvain.  On  August  25th  in- 
formation was  sent  to  the  Leo  XIII  Institution  for 
Philosophy,  a  building  turned  into  a  hospital,  that 
a  hundred  wounded  men  might  be  expected  towards 
evening.  That  evening  began  the  wild  shooting  and 
burning  of  houses  by  the  Germans,  and  soon  a 
large  number  of  wounded  was  taken  to  the  Institu- 
tion. Suddenly  Professor  Noyons  recognised  one 
of  his  servants  among  the  wounded  who  were 
brought  to  him  for  treatment.  She  had  three  bul- 
lets in  her  side.  After  having  bandaged  her  wounds, 
he  hurried  away  to  his  house,  in  order  to  see  what 
had  happened. 

He  thought  that  it  was  sufficiently  protected  by 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     139 

the  immense  Red  Cross  flag,  and  the  words  written 
on  the  door  by  the  Germans  themselves :  "Professor 
Noyons,  Netherland  physician,  to  be  spared."  But 
he  had  been  mistaken.  The  soldiers  did  not  respect 
anything,  and  had  forced  an  entry  into  the  house, 
wounded  that  servant,  and  then  wrecked  everything 
in  the  most  scandalous  manner.  Beautiful  large 
Japanese  jars  had  been  smashed  to  pieces,  valuable 
furniture  damaged  by  knocking  and  breaking  large 
pieces  out  of  it  with  rifles  and  bayonets.  A  fine 
carpet  was  burned,  as  well  as  many  pieces  of  furni- 
ture. A  hole  was  burned  even  in  the  floor. 

Professor  Noyons  took  me  over  the  house  and 
showed  me  the  destruction.  Bullets  had  been  lodged 
in  the  inner  walls  after  piercing  the  windows  and 
on  a  level  with  the  windows.  By  lengthening  the 
line  of  trajection  one  found  that  the  bullets  must 
have  been  fired  at  a  distance  of  nearly  six  hundred 
yards,  which  proves  that  the  Germans  simply  fired 
at  random. 

As  Professor  Noyons  heard  that  other  hospitals, 
churches,  and  ancient  buildings  were  not  spared 
either,  he  went  to  the  commanding  officer  through 
the  rain  of  bullets,  clad  in  his  white  overalls,  to 
claim  protection  for  everything  that  lawfully  dis- 
played the  Red  Cross  flag,  and  to  request  that 
churches,  convents,  ancient  buildings,  and  especially 
the  town-hall  should  be  spared.  It  is  only  owing  to 
his  intervention  that  not  much  more  was  destroyed 
in  Louvain. 

On  the  Thursday  of  the  week  of  destruction  the 
inhabitants  were  notified  that  they  had  to  leave  the 


140     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

town,  but  Professor  Noyons  and  his  wife  decided  to 
stay  on,  as  they  could  not  leave  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  wounded  men  who  were  laid  up  at  the  Institution. 

They  carried  all  those  patients  into  the  cellars  on 
stretchers,  and  there  waited  with  the  nursing  staff 
for  the  bombardment  that  had  been  announced,  but 
never  came  off. 

Professor  Noyons  took  me  all  over  the  hospital, 
and  if  I  should  describe  all  I  saw  and  heard  there, 
that  story  alone  would  fill  volumes.  He  took  me, 
for  example,  to  a  boy  of  eight  years  old,  whose 
shoulder  was  shattered  by  rifle-shots.  His  father 
and  mother,  four  little  brothers  and  a  sister,  had 
been  murdered.  The  boy  himself  was  saved  be- 
cause they  thought  that  he  was  dead,  whereas  he  was 
only  unconscious.  When  I  asked  for  his  parents, 
brothers  and  sister,  he  put  up  his  one  hand  and, 
counting  by  his  little  fingers,  he  mentioned  their 
names. 

There  lay  also  a  woman,  with  one  leg  amputated. 
Her  husband  had  been  murdered,  another  bullet 
had  entered  the  leg  of  the  baby  in  her  arms.  An- 
other woman  had  her  child  murdered  in  her  arms. 

Women  and  children  had  frequently  been  ill- 
treated  in  a  most  atrocious  manner,  aged  and  sick 
people  were  dragged  out  of  the  houses,  and  flung 
down  in  the  street.  This  happened,  for  example,  to 
an  old  man,  who  lay  dying  in  his  cellar.  In  spite 
of  the  supplications  of  his  wife  and  two  sons,  he  was 
flung  on  the  cobbles,  where  he  died  soon.  The  sons 
were  taken  prisoners  and  sent  away.  His  widow 
assists  at  present  nursing  other  unfortunates  at 
Professor  Noyons'  hospital. 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     141 

A  paralysed  woman  who  had  also  been  flung  into 
the  street  was  nursed  at  the  hospital,  and  lay  with 
many  others  in  the  chapel  of  the  Institution,  which 
had  been  turned  into  a  ward. 

Belgian  and  German  soldiers  found  excellent  nurs- 
ing here.  Many  convalescents  were  allowed  to  walk 
in  the  large  garden,  which  was  happily  divided  by 
a  large  wall,  so  that  the  one-time  combatants  could 
be  separated. 

Professor  and  Mrs.  Noyons  were  busy  day  and 
night  on  behalf  of  their  fellow-men,  and  one  could 
quite  well  tell  by  their  looks  that  they  were  over- 
worked. They  took  their  rest  in  the  kitchen,  which 
was  built  in  the  basement.  All  male  and  female 
voluntary  nurses  took  their  meals  there. 

Once  I  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  partaking  of  such 
a  "dinner,"  as  the  guest  of  Professor  and  Mrs. 
Noyons.  The  company  was  very  mixed,  and  men 
who  never  in  their  lives  had  ever  done  anything  else 
but  spoiling  their  eyes  for  the  sake  of  science,  by 
reading  all  manner  of  ancient  manuscripts,  were  now 
busy,  dressed  in  a  blue  apron,  stirring  the  soup  and 
mashing  potatoes  or  vegetables.  The  menu  com- 
prised nothing  but  potatoes,  a'  little  vegetables,  and 
a  finely  calculated  piece  of  meat. 

At  that  dinner  I  also  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Professor  Nerincx,  the  acting  burgomaster.  It  was 
a  courageous  act  to  assume  the  government  of  the. 
town  destroyed  by  the  Germans;  he  did  it  for  the 
sake  of  his  fellow-citizens,  who  will  never  be  able 
to  requite  their  indebtedness  to  the  temporary  burgo- 
master for  what  he  did  for  them;  and  most  of  them 
do  not  even  know  it. 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

The  war  is  not  over  yet,  and  much  is  still  hidden 
under  a  veil,  but  after  the  war  it  will  undoubtedly 
be  the  duty  of  the  Louvain  people  to  twine  a  magnifi- 
cent wreath  round  the  three  names  Noyons-Nerincx- 
Claes. 

The  names  of  many  priests  will  be  found  in  the 
register  of  Belgian  martyrs.  I  have  mentioned  al- 
ready some  who,  although  innocent,  gave  their  life 
for  their  country.  During  my  week's  stay  at  Lou- 
vain  I  heard  of  other  cases.  The  priest  of  Corbeek- 
Loo,  for  example,  was  simply  tortured  to  death  on 
account  of  one  of  his  sermons  in  which  he  said  that 
the  fight  of  the  Belgian  army  was  beautiful  "because 
it  lawfully  resists  an  unlawful  invasion,"  and  further 
for  announcing  a  Holy  Requiem  Mass  for  the  souls 
of  the  "murdered"  citizens, 

At  Blauwput,  near  Louvain,  where,  according  to 
the  Germans,  there  had  been  also  shooting,  many 
houses  were  set  on  fire  and  the  men  placed  in  a  row. 
It  was  then  announced  that  by  way  of  punishment 
every  fifth  man  would  be  shot.  When  the  Germans 
counted  as  tenth  the  father  of  a  large  family,  that 
man  fainted,  and  they  simply  killed  number  eleven, 
a  Capuchin. 

Very  many  other  cases  of  martyrdom  among 
priests  remained  unknown  to  me,  but  the  various 
Belgian  bishops  examined  all  these  events  with 
praiseworthy  zeal  and  scrupulousness,  and  by  taking 
extensive  evidence  established  the  fact  that  in  no 
case  the  victims  could  be  reproached  with  any  act 
that  justified  the  sentence  against  them.  After  the 
war  the  world  will  surely  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  horrible  truth. 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     143 

The  foregoing  record  of  my  experiences  in  Lou- 
vain  will  make  it  sufficiently  clear  to  the  unprejudiced 
reader  that  the  destruction  and  wholesale  murders 
were  nothing  but  wanton  crimes  committed  by  the 
German  troops  stationed  there,  crimes  which  it  is 
impossible  to  justify  on  any  ground. 

The  duration  of  the  war  has  more  or  less  sur- 
prised me,  and  I  postponed  writing  this  book  for  a 
long  time  as  I  wished  to  quote  the  evidence  of  per- 
sons in  high  places,  clergymen,  and  educated  foreign- 
ers. As  the  war  is  not  over  yet,  I  must  omit  these 
in  the  interest  of  their  safety. 

But  from  my  personal  knowledge  and  the  evi- 
dence referred  to,  I  am  able  to  establish  the  follow- 
ing facts  in  connection  with  the  events  that  preceded 
and  followed  the  destruction  of  Louvain. 

On  August  25th  the  Antwerp  garrison  made  a 
sortie,  in  the  direction  of  Louvain.  At  the  begin- 
ning the  Belgians  were  successful,  and  came  within 
four  and  a  half  miles  of  this  town.  For  a  moment 
the  situation  became  critical,  and  at  about  seven 
o'clock  a  small  troop  of  cavalry  came  at  a  furious 
gallop  from  the  scene  of  battle  to  Louvain,  probably 
to  summon  the  assistance  of  the  garrison. 

At  that  hour  the  Namur  Canal  ("Naamsche 
Vest")  was  already  dark  in  consequence  of  the  thick 
foliage  of  tall  trees,  and  suddenly  the  wild  horse- 
men were  shot  at.  Several  neutral  witnesses  estab- 
lished the  fact  that  this  was  done  by  a  small  troop  of 
German  infantry  who  came  from  the  station,  prob- 
ably on  their  way  to  the  battle-field,  and  thought 
that  Belgian  cavalry  came  racing  into  the  town. 

The  men  stopped  their  horses,  dismounted,  and 


144     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

returned  the  fire  from  behind  their  animals.  This 
went  on  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Every 
one  was  alarmed  by  this  shooting;  other  soldiers 
came  racing  in  from  the  station,  and  others  ran  to 
and  fro  near  that  building  crying,  "A  surprise  at- 
tack!" Some,  thinking  that  the  attack  came  from 
the  advancing  Belgians,  rushed  to  the  place  where 
the  fighting  took  place,  others  misunderstood  the 
cry,  believed  that  the  citizens  assaulted  them,  and 
began  to  shoot  at  these,  and  at  the  houses. 

Before  those  on  the  Naamsche  Vest  found  out 
their  mistake,  the  shooting  was  going  on  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  town,  and  the  excited  men,  who 
at  first  had  been  shooting  at  each  other,  soon  joined 
the  rest.  Some  wounded  troopers  were  taken  to 
one  of  the  convents  on  the  Vest,  but  a  couple  of 
hours  later  they  were  suddenly  fetched  away  again. 

The  whole  evening  and  the  next  day  the  Germans 
went  on  shooting  people  and  firing  houses.  It  is 
worth  recording  that  the  library  was  already  set 
on  fire  that  same  evening  of  the  fray  on  the  Naam- 
sche Vest;  it  was  burning  at  eight  o'clock. 

On  Thursday  everyone,  even  the  persons  staying 
in  the  Institution  and  hospitals,  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  town,  as  it  was  to  be  shelled.  They  seemed 
to  have  no  pity  even  on  the  wretched  wounded  men. 
Only  the  male  and  female  nurses  remained  with 
these,  of  their  own  free  will,  determined  to  die  with 
them  if  necessary. 

The  inhabitants  were  driven  to  the  station,  where 
the  husbands  were  cruelly  separated  from  their  wives 
and  several  persons  were  shot.  Other  men  were 
escorted  to  a  place  behind  the  station,  and  their 


LOUVAIN  UNDER  THE  MAILED  FIST     145 

wives  and  children  were  told  that  those  men  were 
going  to  be  shot.  The  poor  things  heard  indeed 
the  click-clack  of  the  rifles  and  thought  that  their 
dear  ones  were  dead.  However,  many  returned 
later,  and  their  "shooting"  seems  to  have  been  a 
mere  sham. 

Great  crowds  walked  the  long  way  to  Tirlemont. 
They  were  constantly  threatened  by  German  sol- 
diers, who  aimed  their  rifles  at  them;  passing  officers 
commanded  from  time  to  time  that  some  should 
stay  behind,  and  others  were  shot.  Especially  did 
the  clerics  amongst  the  refugees  suffer  a  great  deal; 
many  were  not  only  scandalously  scoffed  at,  but  also 
maliciously  injured.  The  greater  part  of  the  Ger- 
mans showed  a  strong  anti-Catholic  bias,  in  particu- 
lar against  the  clergy,  whom  they  accused  of  having 
incited  the  people  against  them. 

This  is  only  a  short  record  of  the  destruction  of 
Louvain,  the  truthfulness  of  which  will  be  firmly 
and  fully  established  after  the  war  by  extensive,  ac- 
curately drawn  up  declarations. 

Louvain  had  been  destroyed  because  a  crowd  of 
wanton  soldiers,  who  were  garrisoned  there,  who 
hated  the  Belgians,  and  who  had  been  kept  within 
bounds  with  difficulty,  seized  on  their  own  stupid 
mistake  to  give  rein  to  their  passions. 

Their  commanding  officer  was  the  worthy  head 
of  such  a  mob,  a  heartless  creature,  who  did  not 
show  the  slightest  remorse  for  the  destruction  of 
those  magnificent  libraries,  set  on  fire  by  his  order. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  civilians  had  been  shoot- 
ing from  the  Halls,  but  when  a  committee  examined 
the  remains  in  the  building  with  the  consent  of 


146     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  military,  they  found  there  the  carcase  of  a  Ger- 
man horse.  They  were  ordered  to  stop  their  inves- 
tigations immediately,  for  that  horse  was  evidence 
.  .  .  that  German  military  men  had  been  billeted 
on  the  building,  and  thus  no  civilians  could  have  been 
there.  This  will  also  be  published  later  in  the  re- 
ports. 

The  German  authority  left  indeed  no  effort  un- 
tried to  cover  up  their  atrocious  action.  Already 
in  a  communication  from  Wolff,  dated  August  29th, 
they  attempted  to  violate  the  truth  by  asserting 
that: — 

"The  houses  caught  fire  from  burning  benzine, 
and  the  flames  burst  out  in  other  quarters  also.  On 
Wednesday  afternoon  part  of  the  town  and  the 
northern  suburb  were  in  flames." 

They  have  not  been  able  to  maintain  that  story 
for  very  long;  the  truth  overtook  the  lie. 

May  all  the  nations  of  the  world  after  the  war 
collaborate  to  compensate  Louvain  for  her  martyr- 
dom, see  that  this  city  shall  be  restored  to  her  former, 
happy  prosperity,  and  get  a  library  which  approaches 
as  much  as  possible  the  one  she  lost.  The  Germans 
can  probably  do  their  part  by  investigating  where 
the  motor-cars  went  which  left  the  Halls  on  that 
wretched  Tuesday  night,  heavily  laden  with  books. 


CHAPTER  X 

ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  HUY,  ANDENNE, 
AND  NAMUR 

BETWEEN  two  of  my  several  trips  to  Louvain  I 
made  one  to  Namur  in  the  beginning  of  September, 
after  having  secured  at  Liege,  by  a  trick,  a  splendid 
permit  which  enabled  me  to  travel  even  by  motor- 
car. 

There  was  a  little  more  order  in  the  whole  dis- 
trict round  Liege,  since  the  Germans  behaved  more 
decently,  and  provisions  had  arrived.  The  shock, 
which  the  burning  and  butchering  of  so  many  places 
and  persons*  gave  to  the  whole  world,  had  also  in- 
fluenced the  conduct  of  the  Germans,  and  from  the 
beginning  of  September  they  made  a  practice  of 
asking  each  time  when  they  thought  that  they  had 
behaved  decently:  "Well,  are  we  such  barbarians 
as  the  world  calls  us?" 

In  this  relative  calm  the  population  felt  somewhat 
relieved,  and  ventured  again  into  the  streets.  Out- 
doors on  the  "stoeps"  of  the  houses  men  sat  on 
their  haunches  smoking  their  pipe  and  playing  a 
game  of  piquet.  Most  of  them  were  vigorous  fel- 
lows, miners,  who  did  not  mind  any  amount  of  work, 
but  now  came  slowly  under  the  demoralising  influence 
of  idleness. 

My  motor  whirled  along  the  gloriously  fine  road 
147 


148     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

to  Huy.  It  is  a  delicious  tour  through  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Meuse,  along  sloping  light-green  roads. 
Had  the  circumstances  not  been  so  sad,  I  should 
have  enjoyed  it  better. 

I  had  already  been  near  Huy,  at  a  time  when 
several  burning  houses  shrouded  the  whole  town  in 
clouds  of  smoke.  On  August  24th,  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  some  shots  had  been  fired  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  viaduct.  This  was  a  sign  for  hundreds 
of  soldiers  to  begin  shooting  at  random  and  arrest 
several  persons.  Several  houses  were  perforated 
like  sieves  by  bullets,  and  an  entire  street  of  twenty- 
eight  houses,  the  Rue  du  Jardin,  was  reduced  to 
ashes.  No  civilians  were  killed. 

It  is  evident  from  the  "Report  on  the  Violations 
of  International  Law  in  Belgium"  that  the  Germans 
themselves  admit  that  they  were  in  the  wrong  with 
regard  to  the  atrocities  which  were  committed  here. 
The  following  order  of  the  day  proves  it: 

"Last  night  a  shooting  affray  took  place.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  had 
any  arms  in  their  houses,  nor  is  there  evidence  that 
the  people  took  part  in  the  shooting;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  seems  that  the  soldiers  were  under  the  in- 
fluence of  alcohol,  and  began  to  shoot  in  a  senseless 
fear  of  a  hostile  attack. 

"The  behaviour  of  the  soldiers  during  the  night, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  makes  a  scandalous  impres- 
sion. 

"It  is  highly  deplorable  when  officers  or  non-com- 
missioned officers  set  houses  on  fire  without  the  per- 
mission or  order  of  the  commanding,  or,  as  the  case 
may  be,  the  senior  officer,  or  when  by  their  attitude 


ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  NAMUR       149 

they  encourage  the  rank  and  file  to  burn  and  plunder. 

"I  require  that  everywhere  a  strict  investigation 
shall  take  place  into  the  Conduct  of  the  soldiers  with 
regard  to  the  life  and  property  of  the  civilian  popu- 
lation. 

"I  prohibit  all  shooting  in  the  towns  without  the 
order  of  an  officer. 

"The  miserable  behaviour  of  the  men  has  been  the 
cause  that  a  non-commissioned  officer  and  a  private 
were  seriously  wounded  by  German  ammunition. 
"The  Commanding  Officer, 
"MAJOR  VON  BASSEWITZ." 

I  was  informed  further  that  there  had  been  no 
fighting  for  the  possession  of  Huy.  The  citadel 
on  which  the  German  flag  flew  had  not  been  put 
in  a  state  of  defence  on  account  of  its  great  age. 
The  old  bridge  over  the  Meuse  at  Huy  had  been 
wrecked  by  the  Belgians,  but  the  Germans  had  sim- 
ply driven  stout  piles  into  the  river,  to  support  a 
floor  which  they  put  over  the  wrecked  part,  and  so 
restored  the  traffic. 

During  my  visit  I  happened  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  Derricks,  a  brother  of  the  lawyer  who 
had  been  murdered  so  cruelly  at  Canne,  and  also 
a  member  of  the  Provincial  States.  The  poor  man 
was  deeply  moved  when  he  heard  the  details  about 
his  brother's  death.  I  made  him  very  happy  by 
taking  a  letter  with  me  for  his  sister-in-law,  who 
was  now  at  Maastricht. 

At  Andenne  things  seemed  much  worse  than  at 
Huy.  I  stopped  there  on  my  way  to  Namur,  and 
had  been  prepared  in  Liege  for  the  sad  things  I 


150     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

should  hear.     A  proclamation  posted  in  the  last- 
named  town  ran  as  follows : — 


"August  22nd,  1914. 

"After  having  protested  their  peaceful  sentiments 
the  inhabitants  of  Andenne  made  a  treacherous  at- 
tack on  our  troops. 

"The  Commanding  General  burned  down  the 
whole  city  with  my  consent,  shooting  also  about  one 
hundred  persons. 

"I  acquaint  the  inhabitants  of  Liege  of  this,  that 
they  may  understand  what  fate  threatens  them  if 
they  should  assume  a  similar  attitude. 

"The  Commanding  General-in-Chief, 

UVON  BUELOW." 

General  von  Buelow  says  here  that  he  gave  his 
consent  to  the  shooting  of  about  one  hundred  per- 
sons, but  I  can  state  with  absolute  certainty  that 
there  were  about  400  victims.  We  must  therefore 
assume  that  the  other  300  were  killed  without  his 
consent. 

Andenne,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Meuse,  was 
a  town  of  8,000  inhabitants.  When  the  Germans 
arrived  there  on  the  morning  of  August  I9th  they 
found  the  bridge  connecting  Andenne  and  Seilles 
wrecked.  In  the  afternoon  they  began  building  a 
pontoon  bridge,  which  was  ready  the  next  day. 
They  were  very  much  put  out  about  the  wrecking 
of  the  other  bridge,  by  the  Belgian  soldiers,  a  cou- 
ple of  hours  before  their  arrival.  Their  exaspera- 
tion became  still  greater  when  they  discovered  after 
having  finished  the  pontoon  bridge,  that  the  big  tun- 


ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  NAMUR       151 

nel  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse  had  also  been  made 
useless  by  barricades  and  entanglements. 

By  refusing  to  pay  at  cafes  and  shops  the  military 
already  expressed  their  dissatisfaction.  Then  on 
Thursday,  August  2Oth,  about  six  in  the  evening, 
after  a  great  many  troops  had  crossed  the  river  by 
the  pontoon  bridge,  a  shot  was  heard  which  seemed 
the  sign  for  a  terrible  fusillade.  Guns  seemed  to 
have  been  mounted  at  convenient  places  outside 
the  town,  for  shells  exploded  right  at  its  centre. 
The  troops  did  no  longer  cross  the  bridge,  but  spread 
themselves  in  a  disorderly  manner  all  over  the  town, 
constantly  shooting  at  the  windows.  Even  mitrail- 
leuses were  brought  into  action.  Those  of  the 
inhabitants  who  could  fly  did  so,  but  many  were 
killed  in  the  streets  and  others  perished  by  bullets 
entering  the  houses  through  the  windows.  Many 
others  were  shot  in  the  cellars,  for  the  soldiers  forced 
their  way  in,  in  order  to  loot  the  bottles  of  wine 
and  to  swallow  their  fill  of  liquor,  with  the  result 
that  very  soon  the  whole  garrison  was  a  tipsy  mob. 

It  struck  me  always  that  as  soon  as  something 
took  place  anywhere  which  might  lead  to  disorder, 
the  method  adopted  was  as  follows :  first  a  fusillade 
in  order  to  scare  the  inhabitants,  secondly  looting 
of  numberless  bottles  of  wine,  and  finally  cruel,  in- 
human murders,  the  ransacking  and  the  wrecking. 

The  game  of  shooting  and  looting  went  on  all 
through  the  night  of  the  2Oth.  Not  a  window  or 
door  remained  whole  even  if  the  house  was  not 
burned  down  altogether. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  all  the  men,  women, 
and  children  who  had  not  yet  been  put  to  death 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

were  driven  to  the  Place  des  Tilleuls,  but  on  the 
way  many  men  had  their  brains  blown  out.  Amongst 
others,  Dr.  Camus,  the  septuagenarian  burgo- 
master, was  then  wounded  and  afterwards  received 
the  finishing  stroke  by  a  hatchet. 

At  the  Place  des  Tilleuls  fifty  men  were  taken 
from  the  crowd  at  random,  escorted  to  the  Meuse, 
and  shot.  In  the  meantime  other  soldiers  went  on 
wrecking,  firing,  and  looting. 

Andenne  offered  a  dismal  spectacle.  The  doors 
and  windows  of  the  houses  that  were  not  completely 
burned  down  had  been  kicked  and  beaten  to  pieces, 
and  boards  had  been  nailed  before  the  holes.  The 
inhabitants  hung  about  disconsolately,  and  I  could 
tell  by  their  faces  how  they  suffered,  for  every  fam- 
ily in  the  town  mourned  the  death  of  one  dear  to 
them. 

They  all  became  excited  whenever  I  mentioned  the 
accusations  brought  against  them.  They  asserted 
with  the  greatest  emphasis  that  it  was  an  absolute 
lie  that  the  civilians  had  shot.  "Even  if  they  tor- 
ture me  to  death,"  said  most  of  them,  "I'll  still  con- 
tend that  this  accusation  is  untrue." 

The  German  officers,  of  course,  held  a  different 
opinion;  they  alleged  that  the  shooting  by  the 
civilians  was  even  very  general  and  purported  to 
be  a  decided  attack  on  the  army.  I  asked  them 
whether  they  had  found  any  rifles  or  other  arms  at 
the  "searches"  of  the  houses — I  expressed  myself 
somewhat  cautiously  on  purpose — for  that  ought  to 
have  been  the  case  if  such  a  great  number  of  citizens 
had  joined  in  the  shooting.  uNo,"  they  answered, 
"they  were  sly  enough  to  see  to  it  that  we  did  not 


ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  NAMUR        153 

find  these.    They  had  been  buried  in  time,  of  course." 

The  answer  is,  surely,  not  very  convincing! 

The  Germans  had  flung  some  more  bridges  across 
the  river  beyond  Andenne,  which  had  been  used 
for  the  occupation  of  Namur  chiefly,  and  lay  idle 
now  guarded  by  only  one  sentry.  I  left  by  the  town- 
gate  without  any  difficulties;  the  German  soldiers 
jumped  out  of  the  way  and  stood  to  attention,  as 
soon  as  they  noticed  the  Netherland  flag  flying  at 
the  front  of  the  motor.  To  the  right  and  the  left 
of  the  gateway  they  had  written  in  gigantic  letters : 
"Newspapers,  please!" 

Namur  was  shelled  on  August  2ist  and  the  23rd. 
Many  houses  were  then  already  wrecked,  many 
civilians  killed.  On  the  23rd  the  Belgian  army  with- 
drew and  only  some  of  the  forts  were  defended. 
This  withdrawal  of  the  Belgian  army  may  have 
been  a  strategical  necessity,  but  it  is  certain  that 
the  forts  had  not  been  defended  unto  the  last.  Five 
forts  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Germans  without 
having  suffered  any  damage. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  23rd  the  hostile  troops 
entered  the  town,  and  on  that  day  the  inhabitants 
had  not  to  suffer,  excepting  from  requisitions  made. 
But  the  following  evening  it  was  suddenly  on  fire  at 
various  spots,  and  the  soldiers  began  to  shoot  in  all 
directions,  making  many  victims.  Before  setting 
the  houses  on  fire,  with  a  liberal  use  of  the  lozenges 
mentioned  already,  the  usurpers  ransacked  them  and 
removed  numerous  pieces  of  valuable  furniture. 
The  Place  d'Armes,  the  Place  Leopold,  the  Rue 
St.  Nicolas,  Rue  Rogier,  and  the  Avenue  de  la 
Plante  were  almost  entirely  reduced  to  ashes.  With 


154     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  town-hall  many  valuable  pictures  were  destroyed. 
The  day  following  the  conflagration  they  left  off 
shooting  at  last,  but  the  looting  went  on  for  days 
more. 

When  I  drove  into  Namur,  I  found  the  town 
comparatively  quiet;  there  was  some  traffic  in  the 
streets,  and  Belgian  army  surgeons  and  British 
nurses  in  their  uniforms  walked  about  freely.  There 
were  many  wounded :  the  German  wounded  were  all 
placed  in  the  military  hospital;  the  Belgians  and  the 
French  had  been  taken  to  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the 
Institution  Saint  Louis,  the  High  School  for  Girls, 
and  the  Sisters  of  Our  Lady. 

When  I  was  eating  a  little  at  one  of  the  hotels 
near  the  railway  station,  I  was  offered  the  news- 
paper V Ami  de  I'Ordre,  which  had  appeared  again 
for  the  first  time  on  that  day,  September  yth,  under 
the  Censorship  of  the  German  authorities.  For 
curiosity's  sake  I  translate  here  the  first  leaderette, 
published  under  the  rule  of  the  new  masters : — 

"ENOUGH  DESTROYED,  ENOUGH  DIS- 
TRESSED! 

"More  than  one  hundred  houses  have  been  burned 
or  wrecked  at  Namur,  among  them  the  town-hall,  the 
house  at  the  Namur  Citadel,  and  the  Institution  for 
ophthalmology  in  the  Place  Leopold.  In  the  Grand 
Marche  and  its  neighbourhood  about  sixty  have  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  If  we  add  to  this  the  damage  done 
by  the  bombardment  from  Friday  the  2ist  until  Sun- 
day the  23rd  August,  and  the  wrecking  of  the  bridges 
after  the  retreat  of  the  army,  we  may  estimate  the 
losses  at  10,000,000  francs. 


ALONG  THE  MEUSE  TO  NAMUR        155 

"Industry,  trade,  and  agriculture  exist  no  longer, 
labour  is  unemployed,  and  food  is  getting  scarce, 
and  over  this  dismal  scene  hovers  the  memory  of 
numerous  victims,  of  hundreds  of  prisoners  of  war 
or  missing  soldiers.  During  the  bombardment  of 
August  23rd  one  hundred  persons  were  killed  out- 
right, or  succumbed  to  their  wounds.  There  are  in- 
numerable other  wounded.  This  it  is  plain  must 
have  plunged  the  town  into  deep  distress. 

"It  mourns  the  lost  liberty,  the  happiness,  the 
peace,  the  brightness  of  her  past  prosperity  which 
has  vanished  for  a  long  season  to  come,  it  laments 
on  account  of  the  prisoners  of  war,  the  wounded,  the 
dead.  .  .  .  And  every  morning  the  brilliant  sun  rises 
on  the  scene,  the  warm  rays  bathe  town  and  country, 
both  alike  cruelly  lashed  by  the  frightful  scourge. 

"Yesterday  crowds  of  believers  prayed  for  peace, 
for  that  blessing  which  is  only  valued  when  it  is  lost. 
Let  us  repeat  our  supplications  twofold,  let  us  in- 
crease our  zeal.  Lord !  O  Lord !  listen  to  the  voice 
of  Thy  people  who  pray  to  Thee!  Be  merciful! 
Give  us  back  our  peace !" 


CHAPTER  XI 

FROM    MAASTRICHT   TO   THE    FRENCH 
FRONTIER 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  DINANT 

ADVENTURES  incite  to  ever  more  risky  undertakings, 
and  we  long  constantly  for  more  sensation.  Such 
an  experience  prompted  me  to  an  arrangement  with 
Mr.  Tervooren,  editor  of  Het  Leven,  to  try  to 
motor  to  the  French  frontier. 

We  left  Maastricht,  in  the  early  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 9th,  with  a  smart  fellow  as  chauffeur.  Lou- 
vain  we  found  tolerably  quiet,  although  fearful  scenes 
were  witnessed  in  the  search  for  corpses,  which  were 
found  in  the  cellars  of  many  houses. 

On  that  day  I  saw  for  the  first  time  in  Belgium 
German  sailors  and  marines,  and  even  an  admiral 
and  some  officers.  At  that  time  the  appearance  of 
the  naval  men  gave  the  newspapers  much  room 
for  conjectures;  it  was  found  later  that  they  were 
to  be  used  in  the  attack  on  Antwerp,  and  after- 
wards had  the  task  allotted  to  them  of  occupying  the 
sea-board. 

I  found  sailors  also  in  Brussels,  but  for  the  rest 
there  was  only  a  little  military  display  there.  In 
this  town  reigned  a  certain  oppressive  silence  and 

156 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     157 

the  cafes  were  not  much  frequented.  The  Brussels 
people  did  not  hide  their  patriotic  sentiments,  and 
nearly  every  house  displayed  the  Belgian  flag,  thanks 
chiefly  to  the  strong  attitude  of  Burgomaster  Max. 
Outwardly  Brussels  had  not  suffered  by  the  war;  not 
a  house  was  damaged  and  nobody  had  been  killed 
yet.  Nor  was  there  lack  of  provisions,  as  was  proved 
by  the  fact  that  at  the  "Metropole,"  one  of  the  larg- 
est restaurants,  I  paid  only  seventy-five  centimes 
(sevenpence-halfpenny)  for  bread,  cold  beef,  and 
pickles. 

We  met  only  a  few  Germans  on  the  road  from 
Brussels  to  Charleroi,  and  found  no  garrison  except 
in  the  townlet  Hal.  Very  little  burning  had  taken 
place  on  this  road,  but  so  much  the  more  plunder- 
ing and  looting.  A  woman  took  us  all  over  her  house 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Brussels,  to  show  us  the 
total  wrecking.  Small  pieces  of  furniture  were  gen- 
erally taken  away,  but  stoves,  kitcheners,  and  cup- 
boards were  smashed.  She  herself  had  had  her  face 
badly  wounded,  because  she  had  hidden  herself  in 
the  cellar  when  the  Germans  came  near,  and  they 
had  beaten  her  out  of  that  with  their  rifle-butts. 
Many  other  women  were  treated  in  the  same  man- 
ner. 

When  we  came  to  Jumet,  a  suburb  of  Charleroi, 
and  a  prosperous  place  with  flourishing  factories, 
we  found  the  whole  town  wrecked.  .  .  .  Nearly 
all  the  houses  were  burned  immediately  after  the 
occupation  by  the  Germans,  and  many  inhabitants 
were  killed,  of  course  under  the  pretext  that  they 
had  been  shooting. 

After  driving  through  this  scene  of  misery  we 


158     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

entered  Charleroi,  and  exactly  at  that  moment  one 
of  the  springs  of  my  motor  broke  in  two,  which  made 
the  car  useless.  Charleroi  seemed  worse  damaged 
than  Namur.  According  to  an  official  statement  is- 
sued at  the  time,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  houses 
had  been  burned,  among  them  many  on  the  fine 
Boulevard  Audent,  the  Saint  Joseph  Institute,  the 
convent  of  the  Sceurs  de  Namur,  and  the  adjacent 
ancient,  miraculous  little  chapel  of  "Sainte  Marie 
des  Remparts," 

Probably  more  than  one  hundred  civilians  had 
been  shot,  whereas  many  perished  in  the  cellars. 
The  heads  of  the  municipality  and  several  priests 
had  at  first  been  taken  as  hostages.  Bail  of  ten  mil- 
lion francs  was  asked  for  their  release,  but  after 
much  haggling  they  consented  to  accept  one  and  a 
half  millions,  which  sum  was  forthcoming  from  the 
various  local  banks. 

Just  as  at  Louvain  and  other  towns,  the  Germans 
indulged  in  looting  and  plundering  also  at  Charleroi; 
and  probably  this  explains  why  here  too  the  finest 
houses  were  destroyed.  Moreover,  many  atrocious 
cases  of  rape  occurred  here  as  at  Dinant,  about 
which  town  more  anon.  At  a  cafe,  where  the  pro- 
prietor unburdened  his  mind  to  me,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  I  read  a  statement  in  which  they  were 
impudent  enough  to  write  that  they  had  passed  a 
pleasant  night  in  circumstances  described  in  detail, 
whilst  the  father  had  been  locked  up. 

Charleroi  was  taken  on  August  22nd.  On  the 
evening  of  the  2ist  a  small  patrol  had  entered  the 
town,  and  of  these  not  a  man  escaped.  But  in  the 
morning  of  the  22nd  at  seven  o'clock  a  large  force 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     159 

of  Germans  arrived  and  immediately  began  to  burn 
and  to  shoot. 

On  the  day  of  my  stay  at  Charleroi,  at  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  bustle  round  about  the  station,  many  trains  from 
Maubeuge  arriving.  One  of  these  trains  was  en- 
tirely filled  by  officers  of  the  garrison  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner.  Another  carried  only  wounded  Ger- 
mans, lying  on  light  stretchers,  on  which  they  were 
transported  through  the  streets  to  the  hospitals  at 
Charleroi.  Many  had  fearful  wounds,  and  con- 
vulsively held  their  hands  on  the  injured  parts,  while 
others  lay  still,  the  pallor  of  death  on  their  face. 
Maubeuge  must  have  cost  the  Germans  enormous 
sacrifices,  as  for  many  of  the  wretched  wounded  no 
room  could  be  found  at  Charleroi,  and  they  had  to 
be  taken  farther  by  train,  to  Namur  or  Brussels. 

German  officials  told  that  immediately  after  the 
surrender  Maubeuge  had  been  set  on  fire  in  various 
places,  because  civilians,  etc.  .  .  .  The  reader  is 
by  now  able  to  complete  the  sentence. 

After  I  had  collected  some  information  in  the 
town  and  my  colleague  of  Het  Leven  had  taken  sev- 
eral snapshots,  we  thought  that  it  was  time  to  look 
for  lodgings  and  to  get  our  motor-car  repaired. 

We  found  rooms,  but  were  guarded  during  the 
night  by  soldiers,  who  walked  up  and  down  the  land- 
ing, because  there  were  officers  also  staying  at  the 
hotel.  Their  regular  footfall  prevented  us  from 
sleeping  a  wink,  but  with  the  help  of  some  fibs  and 
Netherland  cigars  we  induced  them  to  let  us  go  out, 
and  we  went  to  a  sort  of  smith  in  a  kind  of  garage 
to  repair  the  motor-car.  We  turned  up  our  sleeves 


160     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and,  assisted  by  the  smith's  technical  directions,  suc- 
ceeded in  putting  the  broken  spring  together,  using 
stout  steel  clamps  and  screws. 

Before  leaving  we  went  back  to  the  hotel  for 
breakfast.  There — it  was  a  first-class  hotel — they 
gave  us  an  apology  for  coffee,  without  milk  or  sugar, 
and  two  flimsy  pieces  of  bread,  as  hard  as  wood  and 
as  black  as  shoe-polish.  I  was  intensely  hungry,  and 
as  nowhere  at  Charleroi  anything  else  could  be  had, 
I  did  my  best  with  the  wooden  bread  and  succeeded 
in  washing  it  down  with  much  chewing  and  jawing. 
But  the  sweet,  hard  stuff  did  not  suit  my  digestion, 
and  I  felt  ill  already  when  at  six  o'clock  we  got  into 
the  motor-car  and  left  for  Dinant. 

We  could  not  keep  to  the  main  road  all  the  time, 
for  it  was  forbidden  by  proclamation  to  go  farther 
than  nine  miles  and  a  half  from  the  town,  and  we 
should  have  been  stopped  without  fail. 

We  first  drove  through  the  suburb  Montigny- 
sur-Sambre,  which  shared  the  fate  of  Jumet,  and  was 
entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  After  leaving  the  town 
we  went  in  the  direction  of  Chatelet,  where  we  found 
an  immense  battle-field.  Terrific  fighting  must  have 
taken  place  here,  for  the  number  of  buried  was 
enormous.  On  a  wide  stretch  of  land  we  saw  a  great 
number  of  mounds,  with  crosses,  and  covered  with 
quicklime.  On  the  crosses  the  numbers  are  given 
of  the  brave  who  fell  there.  So  I  read,  for  ex- 
ample : — 

"Here  rest  10  soldiers,  French,  I.  Reg.  36. 
fell  22.8.    R.I.P." 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     161 

"Here  rest  23  soldiers,  German,  I.R.  78.  and 
91.     fell  22.8.14.     R.I.P." 

"Here  rest  7  officers,  German,  I.R.    fell  22.8.14. 
R.I.P." 

"Here  rest  140  soldiers,  French,  I.R.  36.    fell  22.8. 
R.I.P." 

There  were  very  many  similar  ones,  but  I  copied 
only  these,  because  they  lay  just  near  the  road; 
farther  on  there  were  numerous  other  white  mounds 
with  crosses. 

The  villages  Gougnies  and  Biesmes  had  been  de- 
stroyed also;  of  the  former  not  one  house  was  left 
undamaged;  but  nothing  happened  to  the  townlet 
Mettet.  Here  we  were  forbidden  to  go  on,  as  we 
were  already  more  than  nine  miles  and  a  half  from 
Charleroi.  This  compelled  us  to  leave  the  main 
road,  and  to  proceed  along  byways  which  soon  took 
us  to  the  Ardennes,  where  our  motor-car  rushed 
along  in  zigzags. 

From  time  to  time  the  tour  became  a  break-neck 
affair,  as  the  mountain  roads  were  wet  and  muddy 
after  much  rain,  and  at  corners  we  were  often  in 
great  fear  of  being  hurled  down  into  the  depth. 
It  was  a  wonderfully  fine  district  of  green  rock,  al- 
though somewhat  monotonous  after  a  time,  as  it 
seemed  that  we  were  simply  moving  in  a  circle,  which 
impression  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  fre- 
quently we  passed  through  tunnels  and  viaducts 
which  were  very  alike  to  one  another. 

I  felt  very  sick,  for  the  sweet  rye-bread  which  I 
had  forced  down  my  throat  in  the  morning  did  not 


162     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

agree  with  me  at  all.  At  last  I  felt  so  ill  that  I 
was  obliged  to  lie  down  on  the  floor  of  the  car,  and 
it  took  my  colleague  all  his  time  to  convince  me  that 
he  did  not  think  that  my  last  hour  had  struck. 

In  the  end  and  in  despair  I  accepted  an  aspirin 
tablet  which  he  had  pressed  on  me  a  hundred  times, 
and  although  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  owing 
to  that,  or  in  spite  of  it,  it  was  a  fact  that  I  felt  some- 
what better. 

After  touring  quite  a  long  while  through  this  laby- 
rinth, we  got  at  last  back  to  the  main  road  from 
Namur  to  Dinant,  near  Anhec.  Here  immediately 
we  saw  proofs  of  war,  drawn  from  widespread  de- 
struction. The  railway  bridge  across  the  Meuse 
near  Houx,  so  picturesquely  situated  at  the  foot  of  a 
high  rock,  had  been  blown  up. 

Bouvigne,  a  hamlet  near  Dinant,  had  suffered  fear- 
fully from  the  bombardment  of  that  town.  Trees 
were  splintered  by  the  shells,  the  church  was  nearly 
a  total  wreck  from  the  same  cause,  and  two  houses 
by  the  road  had  been  riddled  by  bullets  into  a  sieve, 
and  also  damaged  by  shells.  On  the  whole  scene  of 
war  I  have  not  seen  one  house  carrying  so  many 
bullets  in  it;  their  holes  made  the  doors  look  like 
wire-netting.  In  these  houses  the  French  had  barri- 
caded themselves,  brought  mitrailleuses  to  them,  and 
defended  them  until  the  last.  None  of  those  heroes 
left  them  alive.  My  colleague  took  many  snapshots 
of  this  remarkable  spot,  while  I  collected  bullets, 
fragments  of  shell,  and  similar  mementos  of  this  war- 
field. 

In  order  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  fear- 
ful things  that  happened  at  Dinant,  I  insert  here 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     163 

some  quotations  from  the  reports  drawn  up  by  the 
Belgian  Inquiry  Committee  about  the  Violations  of 
International  Law,  of  which  I  can  affirm  the  truth 
word  for  word,  because  they  are  identical  with  the 
information  that  I  got  myself  at  Dinant. 

"The  destruction  took  place  from  August  2ist  to 
the  25th. 

"On  August  1 5th  a  fierce  fight  took  place  between 
the  French  troops  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse  and 
the  Germans  who  approached  from  the  east.  The 
Germans  were  defeated,  put  to  flight,  and  chased  by 
the  French,  who  crossed  the  river.  On  that  day  the 
town  was  not  damaged  much.  Some  houses  were 
destroyed  by  German  howitzers,  which  were  un- 
doubtedly aimed  at  the  French  regiments  on  the  left 
bank.  One  Red  Cross  helper  who  lived  at  Dinant 
was  killed  by  a  German  bullet  when  he  was  taking 
up  one  of  the  wounded. 

"The  next  day  all  remained  quiet,  the  French  keep- 
ing the  surrounding  places  occupied;  not  one  fight 
took  place  between  the  two  armies  and  nothing  hap- 
pened which  might  be  looked  upon  as  a  hostile  ac- 
tion by  the  populations,  and  there  were  no  German 
troops  near  Dinant. 

"At  about  nine  o'clock  of  Friday  evening,  August 
2  ist,  German  soldiers  arriving  by  rail  from  Ciney 
marched  into  the  town  by  the  Rue  Saint  Jacques. 
They  began  to  shoot  into  the  windows  without  the 
slightest  provocation,  killed  a  workman  who  was  on 
his  way  home,  wounded  another  inhabitant  and  com- 
pelled him  to  call  out:  'Long  live  the  Kaiser.'  A 
third  they  wounded  in  the  abdomen  with  thrusts  of 
their  bayonets.  They  burst  into  the  cafes,  requisi- 
tioned all  spirits,  got  tipsy  on  them,  and  left  after 


164     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

setting  several  houses  on  fire  and  knocking  to  pieces 
the  doors  and  windows  of  others. 

"The  inhabitants,  frightened  and  perplexed,  hid 
themselves  in  the  houses. 

"On  Sunday,  August  23rd,  at  half-past  six  in  the 
morning,  the  soldiers  of  the  io8th  regiment  of  the 
line  drove  the  worshippers  out  of  the  Premonstraten- 
sian  Church,  separated  the  men  from  the  women, 
and  shot  about  fifty  of  the  former  through  the  head. 
Between  seven  and  nine  o'clock  there  were  house-to- 
house  looting  and  burning  by  the  soldiers,  who  chased 
the  inhabitants  into  the  street.  Those  who  tried  to 
escape  were  shot  off-hand. 

"At  about  nine  o'clock  the  soldiers  drove  all  who 
had  been  found  in  the  houses  in  front  of  them  by 
means  of  blows  from  their  rifle-butts.  They  crowded 
them  together  in  the  Place  d'Armes,  where  they  kept 
them  until  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Their  guards 
amused  themselves  by  telling  the  men  repeatedly  that 
they  would  soon  be  shot. 

"At  six  o'clock  a  captain  separated  the  men  from 
the  women  and  children.  The  women  were  placed 
behind  a  line  of  infantry.  The  men  had  to  stand 
alongside  a  wall;  those  in  the  first  row  were  ordered 
to  sit  on  their  haunches,  the  others  to  remain  stand- 
ing behind  them.  A  platoon  took  a  stand  straight 
opposite  the  group.  The  women  prayed  in  vain  for 
mercy  for  their  husbands,  their  sons,  and  their  broth- 
ers; the  officer  gave  the  order  to  fire.  He  had  not 
made  the  slightest  investigation,  pronounced  no  sen- 
tence of  any  sort. 

UA  score  of  these  men  were  merely  wounded  and 
fell  among  the  dead.  For  greater  certainty  the  sol- 
diers fired  once  more  into  the  mass.  A  few  got  off 
scot-free  in  spite  of  the  double  fusillade.  For  over 
two  hours  they  pretended  to  be  dead,  remained 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     165 

among  the  corpses  without  budging,  and  when  it  was 
dark  were  able  to  fly  to  the  mountains.  Eighty-four 
victims  remained  behind  and  were  buried  in  a  garden 
in  the  neighbourhood. 

"There  were  other  murders  on  that  same  23rd  of 
August. 

"Soldiers  discovered  inhabitants  of  the  suburb 
Saint  Pierre  in  the  cellars  of  a  brewery,  and  killed 
them  on  the  spot. 

"On  the  previous  day  many  workmen  of  the  silk 
factory  Kimmer  and  their  wives  and  children  had 
found  a  shelter  in  the  cellars  of  the  building,  with 
some  neighbours  and  relatives  of  their  employer.  At 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  unfortunate  people 
made  up  their  mind  to  leave  their  hiding-place  and 
went  into  the  street,  headed  by  a  white  flag.  They 
were  immediately  seized  by  the  soldiers  and  roughly 
ill-treated.  All  the  men  were  shot,  among  them  Mr. 
Kimmer,  Consul  of  Argentina. 

"Nearly  all  the  men  of  the  suburb  Leffe  were  mas- 
sacred en  masse.  In  another  quarter  twelve  citizens 
were  murdered  in  a  cellar.  In  the  Rue  en  He  a 
paralytic  was  shot  in  his  bath-chair,  and  in  the  Rue 
d'Enfer  a  boy,  fourteen  years  old,  was  struck  down 
by  a  soldier. 

"The  railway  viaduct  of  the  suburb  Neffe  became 
the  scene  of  a  bloody  massacre.  An  old  woman  and 
all  her  children  were  shot  in  a  cellar.  A  man  sixty- 
five  years  old,  his  wife,  a  son  and  a  daughter  were 
placed  against  a  wall  and  shot  through  the  head. 
Other  inhabitants  of  Neffe  were  placed  in  a  boat, 
taken  to  the  Rocher  Bayard,  and  shot  there;  among 
them  were  a  woman  eighty-three  years  old  and  her 
husband. 

"A  number  of  men  and  women  had  been  locked  in 
the  yard  of  the  prison.  ...  At  six  o'clock  in  the 


166     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

evening  a  mitrailleuse  was  placed  on  the  mountain 
and  fired  at  them,  an  old  woman  and  three  others 
being  killed. 

"Whilst  some  soldiers  committed  these  murders, 
others  looted  and  wrecked  the  houses,  smashed  the 
safes  or  blew  them  up  with  dynamite.  They  forced 
their  way  into  the  Banque  Centrale-  de  la  Meuse, 
seized  the  manager,  Mr.  Xavier  Wasseige,  and 
called  upon  him  to  open  the  safe.  As  he  refused  to 
do  so,  they  tried  to  force  it  open,  but  in  vain.  There- 
upon they  took  Mr.  Wasseige  and  his  two  eldest 
sons  to  the  Place  d'Armes,  where  they  and  120  of 
their  fellow-citizens  were  shot  by  means  of  a  mitrail- 
leuse. The  youngest  three  children  of  Mr.  Was- 
seige were  held  by  soldiers  and  forced  to  attend  the 
slaughter  of  their  father  and  brothers.  We  were 
also  informed  that  one  of  the  young  Wasseiges  lay 
dying  for  an  hour  and  nobody  dared  to  come  to  his 
assistance. 

"After  the  soldiers  had  performed  their  duty  as 
vandals  and  bandits  they  set  the  houses  on  fire.  Soon 
the  whole  town  was  one  immense  pool  of  fire. 

"All  the  women  and  children  had  been  taken  to 
a  convent,  where  they  were  kept  imprisoned  for  four 
days,  without  hearing  of  the  fate  of  their  beloved 
ones.  They  themselves  expected  to  be  shot  in  their 
turn.  Round  about  them  the  burning  of  the  town 
went  on. 

"The  first  day  the  religious  were  allowed  to  give 
them  some  food,  although  not  sufficient.  Soon  they 
had  nothing  to  eat  but  carrots  and  unripe  fruit. 

"The  inquiry  also  brought  to  light  that  the  Ger- 
man soldiers  on  the  right  bank,  who  were  exposed  to 
the  fire  of  the  French,  hid  themselves  here  and  there 
behind  civilians,  women  and  children. 

"In  short  the  town  of  Dinant  is  destroyed.     Of 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     167 

1,400  houses,  200  only  remained  standing.  The  fac- 
tories, where  the  labouring  population  got  their 
bread  and  butter,  were  wrecked  systematically.  Many 
inhabitants  were  sent  to  Germany,  where  they  are 
still  kept  as  prisoners.  The  majority  of  the  others 
are  scattered  all  over  Belgium.  Those  who  stayed 
in  the  towns  were  starved. 

uThe  committee  has  a  list  of  the  victims.  It  con- 
tains 700  names,  and  is  not  complete.  Among  those 
killed  are  seventy-three  women  and  thirty-nine  chil- 
dren between  six  months  and  fifteen  years  old. 

"Dinant  had  7,600  inhabitants,  of  whom  ten  per 
cent,  were  put  to  death;  not  a  family  exists  which 
has  not  to  mourn  the  death  of  some  victims;  many 
families  have  been  exterminated  completely." 

When  we  entered  the  town  in  our  motor-car, 
those  of  the  unfortunate  population  who  had  escaped 
from  the  murderous  massacre  had  already  left  the 
town.  Between  the  ruins  and  the  deserted  French 
Red  Cross  cars  we  drove  to  the  pontoon  bridge 
which  the  Germans  had  flung  across  the  river  by  the 
side  of  the  Meuse  bridge,  which  had  been  blown  up. 
Here  we  were  stopped  by  German  soldiers  who 
guarded  the  pontoon  bridge.  In  a  cafe  we  came 
across  a  few  of  the  citizens  who  had  remained. 
These  unfortunate  people  had  no  home,  no  money, 
and  no  food,  lacked  the  wherewithal  to  go  farther 
away,  and  now  depended  on  the  charity  of  the  mur- 
derers of  their  relatives.  Twice  a  day  they  were 
allowed  to  call  at  one  of  the  German  stores  for  a 
piece  of  bread,  in  exchange  for  a  ticket  which  they 
might  get  at  the  commander's  office.  The  Germans, 


168     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

upholders  of  morality  and  "Kultur,"  saw  to  it  that 
their  victims  did  not  overeat  themselves. 

Our  passport  had  to  be  stamped  by  this  same 
commander,  and  my  colleague  had  to  ask  him  for 
a  permit  to  take  photographs.  The  commander 
would  not  hear  of  this,  but  finally  agreed,  after  my 
colleague  had  snapshotted  him  and  his  staff  in  front 
of  the  office.  Our  passport  was  marked:  "i.  Land- 
sturm  Infantry  Battalion,  Dresden. " 

Dinant  offered  a  terrible  sight;  it  no  longer  ex- 
isted. On  foot,  of  course,  we  walked  along  the 
place  where  a  large  shop  once  stood,  but  one  could 
not  even  distinguish  where  the  road  had  been.  Not 
one  street  was  left,  and  the  few  houses  that  were 
saved  are  not  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  On  a 
slope  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Meuse  there  had  been 
two  large  monasteries,  which  had  been  turned  into 
hospitals.  They  had  been  wrecked  completely  by 
gun-fire,  and  as  if  in  bitter  mockery  at  the  cruel 
fate,  the  Red  Cross  flags  flew  there  still  undamaged. 

In  the  centre  of  the  town  everything,  including 
the  large  buildings,  had  been  levelled  with  the 
ground.  This  was  the  case  with  the  principal  church 
"de  Notre  Dame,"  the  college  of  the  same  name, 
the  "Belle  Vue,"  the  monasteries,  etc.,  of  the  "Freres 
et  Soeurs  de  Notre  Dame,"  the  "Saint  Nicolas"  and 
"Saint  Pierre"  churches,  and  three  large  factories, 
"Oudin,"  "Le  Merinos,"  and  "La  Dinant,"  the 
"Banque  Centrale  de  la  Meuse,"  the  town-hall,  the 
ancient  "Palace  of  the  Prince-Bishops,"  and  all  its 
archives,  the  magnificent  post-and-telegraph  office, 
the  large  hotels  "de  la  Tete  d'Or,"  "des  Postes," 
"des  Ardennes,"  "Moderne,"  "Terminus,"  the  hotels 


MAASTRICHT  TO  FRENCH  FRONTIER     169 

"de  la  Citadelle,"  "la  Paix,"  "la  Gare,"  etc.,  etc., 
the  "Institut  Hydrotherapique,"  all  houses  of  the 
"Bon  Secours"  Congregation,  etc. 

The  finest  view  of  Dinant  was  from  the  beautiful 
bridge  affording  a  passage  across  the  Meuse  with 
the  "Notre  Dame"  in  the  background.  This  church 
was  built  just  in  front  of  a  steep  rock,  on  top  of 
which  stood  the  citadel  of  Dinant. 

Now  the  bridge  is  blown  up,  the  greater  part  of 
the  church  destroyed  by  the  Germans,  and,  had  na- 
ture not  been  more  powerful  than  their  brutal, 
clumsy  violence,  they  would  have  pulled  down  that 
rock  too.  But  it  is  still  there,  the  solitary  remnant  of 
the  famous  beauty  of  Dinant. 

My  companion  wanted  to  take  a  snapshot  of  this 
point,  but  in  order  to  enliven  the  scene  somewhat, 
he  requested  a  few  soldiers  to  stand  in  the  square 
in  front  of  the  church.  Each  had  a  couple  of  cham- 
pagne bottles  hanging  on  his  stomach,  and  refused 
absolutely  to  accede  to  my  colleague's  request  to 
remove  them.  They  insisted  upon  being  snapshotted 
with  those  bottles  hanging  on  their  bodies !  So  my 
companion  took  this  snapshot  of  "Kultur"  in  that 
condition,  houses  burned  down,  a  church  destroyed, 
and  in  front  of  these  the  grinning  and  coarse  villains, 
puffing  out  their  bodies,  proud  of  their  empty  bot- 
tles. 


CHAPTER  XII 
ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELDS 

As  often  as  I  went  on  tour  to  collect  news  on  the 
scene  of  war,  I  got  dozens  of  messages  and  letters, 
which  alarmed  people  sent  to  the  editor  of  De  Tijd, 
with  the  request  that  they  should  be  handed  to  me 
for  further  transmission  to  relatives.  I  took  hun- 
dreds of  them  to  and  from  Louvain. 

On  Monday,  September  I4th,  I  took  with  me  a 
larger  number  than  ever  to  Louvain. 

I  observed  then  already  that  much  poverty  pre- 
vailed, for  in  many  places  I  noticed  people  whose  ap- 
pearance did  not  suggest  that  they  were  accustomed 
to  that  sort  of  work,  creeping  quietly  in  and  out  of 
hedges,  carrying  bags  in  which  they  put  the  potatoes 
picked  up  in  the  fields.  Naturally  they  started  and 
looked  alarmed,  when,  suddenly,  I  passed  on  my 
bicycle. 

Round  about  Louvain  everything  was  prepared  for 
defensive  purposes,  artillery  being  hidden  under 
straw-roofs,  only  a  few  yards  away  from  the  farm- 
houses, and  the  sentries  were  very  alert.  I  never 
saw  them  before  I  was  quite  near;  then  they  jumped 
suddenly  from  behind  a  tree,  summoning  me  to  stop 
by  lowering  their  rifle.  In  the  meadows  were  a  good 
many  newly  cut  trenches. 

170 


ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELDS  171 

Some  soldiers  were  rather  friendly  when  I  re- 
vealed myself  as  a  Netherland  reporter;  they  in- 
formed me  with  serious  faces  that  in  Germany  two 
million  volunteers  were  drilling;  that  in  each  garri- 
son-town the  majority  of  the  men  were  left  behind 
as  reserves;  that  by  and  by  they  were  going  to  level 
Antwerp  to  the  ground,  if  these  Belgians  would  not 
keep  quiet;  that  after  all  Belgium  proved  a  bigger 
job  than  they  had  bargained  for;  that  Amsterdam 
and  Rotterdam  had  been  shelled  and  Flushing  taken 
by  the  British ;  that  Germany  had  now  sent  a  great 
number  of  troops  into  The  Netherlands  to  protect 
her  against  Britain,  because  The  Netherlands  her- 
self had  no  army  at  all;  and  so  on  and  so  on. 

One  of  the  soldiers  took  me  to  the  spot  where  two 
days  before  the  Belgians  had  blown  up  the  railway 
which  had  just  now  been  repaired  by  the  German 
engineers.  According  to  his  story  eighty  troopers 
had  succeeded  in  surprising  a  guard  of  twelve  and  in 
pushing  on  to  the  railway. 

Near  Corbeek-Loo  a  strong  Belgian  force  had 
been  able  even  to  reach  the  main  road  to  Louvain, 
and  there  also  destroyed  the  railway,  after  which 
they  retreated  before  the  advancing  Germans. 

These  minor  actions  formed  part  of  the  sortie  by 
the  Belgians  from  Antwerp.  One  division  marched 
towards  Louvain  and  occupied  Aerschot  on  Thursday 
evening,  September  loth.  On  Friday  they  ad- 
vanced farther  in  the  direction  of  Wijgmaal-Rotse- 
lair-Corbeek-Loo,  with  continuous  hard  fighting.  On 
Saturday  the  fights  were  fiercest  round  about  these 
places,  and  ended  in  the  evening  in  a  retreat  of  the 
Belgians,  who  made  the  enemy  pay  as  heavily  as 


172     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

possible  for  their  victory,  although  they  themselves 
had  to  leave  behind  a  good  many  victims. 

Considerations  of  space  forbid  me  to  relate  many 
of  the  heroic  deeds  performed  on  this  occasion,  but 
an  exception  may  be  made  of  the  following : — 

When  I  arrived  in  Louvain  I  heard  of  a  young 
Fleming  who  was  then  being  nursed  in  a  hospital 
established  by  the  Norbertine  Fathers,  and  had  been 
serving  at  two  pieces  of  ordnance  near  Corbeek- 
Loo.  As  the  army  was  forced  to  retreat  in  the  eve- 
ning his  comrades  were  compelled  to  abandon  the 
two  guns,  but  he  had  to  stay,  being  wounded  in  the 
leg  by  a  grape  shot.  The  Germans  made  him  pris- 
oner, and  tied  him  to  a  tree.  By  an  immense  effort 
he  succeeded  in  tearing  himself  loose,  and  dragged 
himself  towards  a  farm-house.  At  a  short  distance 
from  this  goal  he  was  stopped,  however,  by  a  Ger- 
man soldier.  The  Fleming,  putting  forth  all  his  re- 
maining strength,  gave  the  other  such  a  tremendous 
blow  in  the  face  with  his  rifle-butt  that  he  fell  down 
dead.  Subsequently  this  boy  reached  the  farm-house, 
where  he  was  charitably  received.  Later  on  he  was 
fetched  away  by  the  Sisters  from  Boven-Loo,  and 
finally  from  that  institution  by  the  Norbertine 
Fathers. 

The  Belgians  left  also  a  considerable  number  of 
dead  and  wounded  at  Wijgmaal  and  Rotselair.  On 
Tuesday,  September  I5th,  I  visited  the  battle-fields 
in  that  neighbourhood  with  father  Coppens,  a 
Netherland  Norbertine,  born  at  Lieshout.  The 
wounds  of  the  soldiers  lying  there  were  in  a  most 
terrible  condition,  because  the  Germans  forbade 
the  removal  of  the  Belgian  wounded  before  all  the 


ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELDS  173 

German  dead  had  been  buried.  In  my  opinion  not 
only  a  proof  of  barbarity,  but  also  an  admission  that 
the  Germans  themselves  must  have  suffered  great 
losses. 

The  Wijgmaal  battle-field  was  after  all  the  least 
horrible.  About  ten  houses  seemed  to  have  been 
set  on  fire  on  purpose;  the  rest  had  suffered  badly 
from  the  bombardment.  All  the  inhabitants  had 
fled  as  soon  as  the  fighting  began.  The  wounded 
Belgians  had  been  placed  in  the  large  dancing-room 
of  a  cafe,  where  father  Coppens  brought  them  a 
large  hamper  full  of  eatables  and  drinkables,  and 
whence  also  he  had  them  transported  to  Louvain. 
The  food  was  gratefully  accepted,  but  they  were 
still  more  eager  to  get  hold  of  the  mugs,  as  they  were 
very  thirsty  in  consequence  of  the  high  temperature 
caused  by  the  inflamed  wounds;  often  we  had  to  pre- 
vent them  forcibly  from  drinking  too  much. 

We  passed  a  dead  field-officer  who  still  laid  hold 
of  a  piece  of  a  flag.  When  I  read  that  sort  of  thing 
in  a  book,  I  thought:  "how  pretty  and  romantic," 
but  never  believed  that  this  would  actually  happen 
in  war-time.  I  saw  the  reality  now,  and,  deeply 
touched,  bared  my  head,  saluting  that  dead  hero. 
From  papers  we  found  on  him  we  saw  that  his  name 
was  Van  Gesthel;  like  most  Belgians,  he  had  been 
killed  by  shell. 

I  went  on  with  Father  Coppens  and  found  about 
one  hundred  wounded,  of  whom  only  a  few  had  been 
taken  to  the  houses.  Most  of  them  crept  away 
frightened,  but  when  we  told  them  that  we  were 
Netherlanders  from  Louvain,  who  came  to  bring 
them  food  and  drink,  and  to  take  them  away  to  be 


174     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

nursed,  they  got  hold  of  our  coats  and  refused  to  let 
us  go. 

They  drank  deep,  in  long  draughts,  with  trembling 
lips,  and  beseeched  us  not  to  leave  them  again : 
"Oh,  gentlemen,  then  we  shall  die!"  We  swore 
that  we  should  come  back,  and  that  later  on  carriages 
would  arrive  from  Louvain  to  take  them  to  some 
convent  or  hospital;  and,  trusting  us,  they  resigned 
themselves  in  the  end. 

Goats,  pigs,  cows,  and  other  cattle  roamed  freely 
through  the  village-street,  looking  for  food  and  lick- 
ing the  faces  of  the  dead. 

We  entered  a  stable  whence  we  thought  that  a 
sound  came.  We  saw,  however,  nothing  but  a  heap 
of  straw,  and  a  pig  which  ran  up  against  us  near  the 
door.  Father  Coppens  chased  it  away  with  a: 

"Get  you  gone,  you  brute !" 

And  all  at  once  the  straw  began  to  move,  a  head 
popped  out,  and  a  weak  voice  exclaimed : 

"Ah  well,  be  you  a  Fleming?" 

The  poor  fellow  had  hidden  himself,  being  afraid 
that  we  were  Germans ;  but  when  he  heard  the  "Get 
you  gone,  you  brute!"  he  ventured  to  show  him- 
self. 

"Certainly,  my  lad,"  said  Father  Coppens — "cer- 
tainly we  are  Flemings.  What  is  the  matter  with 
you?" 

We  removed  the  rest  of  the  straw,  undressed  him 
partially,  and  on  both  his  legs  the  most  hideous 
wounds  became  visible.  Septic  process  had  worsened 
his  condition  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  unfortunate 
boy  had  only  a  short  time  to  live.  I  moved  away 


ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELDS  175 

...  he  confessed  to  Father  Coppens,  who  gave  him 
the  viaticum,  which  he  carried  with  him. 

Later  on  people  from  Louvain  came  with  carts, 
which  we  had  ordered  before  leaving.  Thirteen  of 
these  carried  the  wounded  away,  whilst  a  German 
patrol  went  all  over  the  village,  setting  everything 
on  fire. 

Father  Coppens  and  I  beseeched  the  German  com- 
manding officer  to  spare  the  houses  of  some  people, 
large  families,  who  came  for  shelter  to  the  father's 
convent.  And  at  length,  after  long  supplications, 
we  secured  exemption  for  a  few  houses,  inhabited 
by  people  who  could  not  have  done  anything  in  a 
village  which  had  been  completely  evacuated  by  the 
population,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight. 

In  the  Hospital  Leo  XIII,  that  eager  Nether- 
lander, Professor  Noyons,  did  all  he  could  to  save 
as  many  as  could  be  saved  of  the  wretched  Belgian 
wounded;  but  as  rain  and  cold  had  done  so  much 
harm  to  the  wounds,  amputation  of  the  injured  limbs 
was  as  a  rule  the  only  remedy  left. 

Never  thinking  of  rest  he  went  on  day  and  night, 
taking  away  the  poor  fellows1  arms  and  legs,  and  all 
this  by  the  miserable  light  of  some  candles.  Gas 
and  electricity  were  not  to  be  had,  the  works  being 
idle  after  the  destruction  of  the  town. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN 

ALTHOUGH  at  first  I  had  a  different  plan,  I  decided 
on  Saturday,  September  26th,  to  go  first  to  Riempst 
- — a  little  walk  of  three  hours  each  way — as  I  had 
read  a  report  in  certain  papers  quoted  from  the 
Handelsblad  van  Antwerpen  that  the  church  of 
Riempst  had  been  burned  and  the  vicars  of  that  par- 
ish and  of  Sichem  had  been  made  prisoners. 

Arrived  at  Riempst  I  found  the  pretty  village 
church  in  its  full  glory  and  the  vicar  engaged  in  per- 
forming his  religious  functions;  the  vicar  of  Sichem 
was  also  still  at  home.  The  only  part  of  the  report 
that  was  true  was  that  various  burgomasters  from 
the  environs  had  been  sent  to  Tongres  and  had  not 
returned  since.  The  burgomaster  of  Riempst,  with 
whom  I  had  been  imprisoned  already  once,  was  being 
searched  for  by  the  Germans  everywhere,  but  could 
not  be  found.  In  several  places  I  heard  also  that 
the  Belgians  were  lying  in  the  woods  round  about, 
and  that  something  was  being  prepared  at  Riempst; 
but  no  one  knew  what.  So  I  decided  to  go  and  in- 
quire. 

The  road  was  quite  deserted,  for  the  people,  who 
live  in  great  fear,  do  not  venture  out. 

As  far  as  Bilsen  everything  seemed  equally  de- 
176 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  177 

serted,  but  quite  near  the  town  a  couple  of  German 
soldiers  suddenly  came  to  me  from  behind  a  house, 
and  ordered  me  to  stop.  They  took  me  with  them  to 
the  guard,  which  was  established  in  the  aforemen- 
tioned house. 

There  it  appeared  that  my  papers  were  in  good 
order,  but  at  the  same  time  I  was  informed  that  I 
was  to  be  taken  to  the  commanding  officer  at  the 
station  and  could  not  be  allowed  to  leave  Bilsen 
for  the  present.  I  was  escorted  through  the  town- 
let,  which  appeared  to  be  entirely  deserted;  but  now 
and  then  somebody  came  to  his  front-door  to  watch 
the  latest  victim  of  the  Germans  being  led  past.  At 
the  station  I  was  pushed  without  much  courtesy  into 
a  keep  where  six  other  civilians  sat,  who  had  been 
picked  up  as  being  at  large,  and  whose  faces  were 
now  covered  with  a  cold  perspiration  from  fear, 
because  they  were  firmly  convinced  that  by  and  by 
they  would  be  shot. 

Three  soldiers  stood  before  the  open  door  and 
amused  themselves  by  provoking  these  people  in  the 
most  inhuman  manner,  by  abusing  them  and  telling 
them  that  later  on  they  would  be  hanged  or  shot. 
The  poor  fellows  shivered  and  their  teeth  clattered. 
I,  the  newly  arrived  "swine,"  was  treated  in  much 
the  same  way,  but  I  reduced  the  insolent  blusterers 
into  the  quietest  people  of  the  world  by  warning 
them  that  by  and  by  I  would  ask  the  commanding 
officer  whether  his  soldiers  had  the  right  to  call  a 
Netherlander  a  "swine."  That  put  some  heart  into 
my  fellow-victims,  and  I  urged  them  that  they  would 
do  best  by  replying  calmly  to  any  questions  which 
the  commanding  officer  might  put  to  them.  They 


178     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

actually  became  more  composed,  and  told  me  the 
following : 

The  Germans  had  evacuated  Bilsen  some  days 
ago,  probably  after  being  informed  that  a  strong 
force  of  Belgians  was  coming  on.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  only  eleven  Belgian  soldiers  had  entered  the 
townlet.  These  had  pulled  down  the  German  flag 
from  the  town-hall  and  replaced  it  by  the  Belgian. 
The  station  and  the  railway  were  then  closed  to 
the  public  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  in  that  time  they 
pulled  up  the  rails  in  two  places.  On  Friday  evening 
the  Germans  returned  in  great  numbers  by  train 
from  Tongres,  and  the  train  derailed  on  one  of 
those  places;  but  no  lives  were  lost,  as  it  went  very 
slowly. 

The  Germans  had  then  taken  it  into  their  heads 
that  the  Belgians  occupied  Bilsen  and  the  station, 
and  began  a  terrific  fire  at  the  station  and  the  sur- 
sounding  houses,  although  there  was  not  a  single 
Belgian  soldier  in  the  whole  town.  When  they  had 
satisfied  themselves  that  this  was  the  case,  they 
stopped  firing,  and  were  furious  on  account  of  the 
derailing  and  the  mistake  they  had  made.  They  then 
started  a  wild  hunt  for  the  men,  and  set  about  ten 
houses  on  fire,  as  also  the  signalman's  cottage,  be- 
cause he  had  not  warned  them  of  the  danger  by  wav- 
ing his  red  flag. 

They  made  no  allowance  for  the  fact  that  they 
themselves  had  relieved  all  railway  officials  of  their 
functions  until  later  notification.  The  signalman 
was  made  a  prisoner,  but  released  subsequently. 

As  soon  as  they  began  to  chase  the  men,  the  greater 
part  of  the  inhabitants  fled  in  dire  fear,  most  of 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  179 

them  towards  the  Campine.  In  the  fields  and  the 
shrubberies  the  Germans  must  have  killed  a  good 
many  of  the  male  fugitives,  and  made  the  others 
prisoners.  Among  the  latter  were  my  six  fellow- 
victims. 

That  same  Friday  evening  the  women  and  chil- 
dren living  in  the  Rue  de  la  Station  were  told  to  leave 
their  houses  as  the  whole  street  was  to  be  burned 
down.  Everybody  fled,  but  the  design  was  not  exe- 
cuted. The  burgomaster  and  his  son  were  taken 
prisoners,  and  brought  to  Tongres;  later  on  the 
son  was  released;  the  Very  Reverend  the  Dean  was 
also  arrested. 

The  latter  himself  told  me  that  he  was  released 
in  order  to  instruct  the  vicars  in  the  eighteen  parish- 
ers  of  his  deanery  that  they  should  inform  their 
parishioners  that  the  whole  village  would  be  burned 
and  the  inhabitants  killed  if  the  railway-line  should 
be  broken  up,  no  matter  whether  it  were  done  by  Bel- 
gian soldiers  or  others. 

After  I  had  been  incarcerated  for  about  two  hours 
I  was  taken  to  the  commanding  officer,  Major  Krit- 
tel,  or  rather  to  one  of  his  subordinates,  Captain 
Spuer,  who  was  having  a  violent  altercation  with 
his  chief.  The  captain  appeared  to  insist  with  great 
force  that  the  whole  place  should  be  burned  down 
and  all  the  prisoners  shot.  But  the  major  seemed 
to  be  a  tolerably  reasonable  man,  tried  to  soothe  the 
captain,  and  at  last  put  down  his  foot,  saying  that 
he  had  had  enough.  The  captain,  a  rude,  fat  fellow, 
sat  down  at  a  desk  and  bellowed  at  me : 

"Here,  swine!" 

I  did  not  budge. 


180     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"Here,  swine !" 

"I  am  a  Netherlander." 

"Netherlander?  Doesn't  matter.  Have  you  got 
papers?  All  right.  You  shan't  have  those  back." 

"Then  I'll  lodge  a  complaint  with  the  Imperial 
Governor  of  Liege,  who  gave  me  the  papers." 

"Swine!" 

Now  the  major  jumped  up  and  shouted  at  his 
subordinate  that  he  had  to  treat  a  Netherlander  as 
he  ought  to  be  treated. 

The  major,  sitting  at  another  desk,  took  my 
further  examination  upon  himself,  apologising  for 
the  "noisy"  conduct  of  his  subordinate,  who  had  got 
somewhat  over-excited  in  consequence  of  the  circum- 
stances. He  found  my  papers  in  perfect  order,  and 
told  me  in  civil  tones  that  I  should  get  back  my  liberty 
which  I  had  lost  in  consequence  of  a  misunderstand- 
ing, but  that  for  the  present  I  was  not  allowed  to 
leave  Bilsen,  as  I  should  run  the  greatest  risk  of 
being  shot  by  German  or  Belgian  patrols,  who  were 
hidden  along  the  road.  He  asked  me  to  call  again 
the  next  morning. 

I  availed  myself  of  his  benevolent  mood  and  told 
him  that  my  fellow-prisoners  were  treated  very  un- 
kindly by  his  soldiers,  and  these  people  had  lost 
their  composure  entirely  in  consequence.  A  calm 
examination,  I  told  him,  undoubtedly  would  give 
him  also  the  conviction  that  these  people  had  only 
fled  into  the  fields  because  they  were  afraid,  but  not 
with  any  criminal  intent.  He  promised  me  to  con- 
duct the  examination  himself,  and  to  be  as  kind  as 
possible.  The  next  morning  I  heard  that  they  had 
all  been  released. 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  181 

I  now  tried  to  get  something  to  eat  in  the  town  at 
an  hotel. 

"Well,  what  have  you  got  for  me  to  eat?" 

"To  eat,  sir — to  eat?  A  bit  of  bacon  .  .  .  that's 
all." 

"Well,  that's  all  right;  and  what  am  I  going  to 
have  with  it,  bread,  potatoes,  or  .  .  .  ' 

"Bread,  potatoes?    Nothing.    We  have  nothing." 

I  went  to  various  other  places,  but  there  I  could 
not  even  get  a  bit  of  bacon.  So  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  starve  for  the  present,  and  to  make  inquiries  here 
and  there  about  families  whose  acquaintances  or 
friends  had  asked  me  to  do  so  through  the  editor  of 
De  Tijd. 

Afterwards  I  sauntered  through  the  very  quiet 
little  town,  until  I  suddenly  saw  something  quite 
uncommon,  namely  two  civilians  who,  like  myself, 
were  walking  about.  When  I  came  near,  one  of 
them  recited  a  rhyme: 

"Ah,  there  comes  Mister  Tijd,  and  he 
Lost  like  ourselves  his  liberty!" 

I  had  not  the  faintest  idea  who  they  were,  but 
then  they  introduced  themselves  as  van  Wersch  and 
Dasoul,  both  living  at  the  time  at  Hasselt.  The 
first  had  been  at  Maastricht  a  couple  of  days  ago 
and  had  seen  me  there.  He  told  me  that  that 
morning  he  had  been  "hooked"  and  his  companion 
only  the  evening  before.  He  had  come  to  Bilsen 
on  a  bicycle,  and  got  such  a  blow  on  his  back  from 
the  butt  of  a  German  rifle  that  the  butt  was  cracked 
in  two  although  his  back  was  not  injured. 


182     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

He  had  been  uneasy  because  he  experienced  no 
disagreeable  consequences  of  that  blow,  and  had 
therefore  consulted  the  doctor  at  Bilsen,  who  thought 
that  only  his  excited  nerves  had  enabled  him  to  with- 
stand such  a  blow.  Both  had  been  locked  up  a  cou- 
ple of  hours  and  their  bicycles  had  been  taken  away, 
as  also  their  papers.  Mr.  van  Wersch,  however, 
had  an  acquaintance  at  Bilsen  with  whom  he  and  his 
companion  found  lodgings,  and  whither  he  was  good 
enough  to  take  me  as  well. 

After  a  bed  had  been  promised  me,  my  first  re- 
quest was  for  something  to  eat,  for  I  had  not  en- 
joyed anything  as  yet.  But  there  was  nothing  left, 
absolutely  nothing.  I  scratched  my  head,  and  rubbed 
my  empty  stomach,  when  suddenly  I  heard  a  fowl 
cackling  outside.  Negotiations  about  it  were  soon 
finished;  my  companion  was  to  kill  the  fowl,  where- 
as I  was  to  call  on  Major  Krittel  and  tell  him  that 
I  liked  my  enforced  stay  in  Bilsen  very  much,  but 
that  he  ought  to  see  now  that  I  got  something  to 
eat 

I  returned  with  two  large  round  "brown  Georges" 
— soldiers'  loaves. 

Never  did  I  enjoy  a  meal  so  much;  but  not  so 
the  kind  people  who  had  received  us  so  friendly; 
they  could  not  eat.  The  terror  which  reigned  among 
the  population  in  those  days  was  indescribable.  One 
must  have  seen  it  and  gone  through  it  with  them,  to 
realise  it.  They  really  feared  that  at  any  moment 
the  Germans  would  drive  the  population  out  of  the 
houses  and  set  the  town  on  fire. 

Men  and  women  in  the  prime  of  life  sat  on  their 
chairs,  gazing  vacantly  at  nothing,  lacking  in  the 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  183 

most  literal  sense  of  the  word  the  strength  to  stand 
or  to  walk.  When  at  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening 
the  click-clack  of  rifle-fire  was  heard — for  a  Belgian 
patrol  seemed  to  have  come  near  the  town, — my 
hostess  and  her  daughter  pressed  a  couple  of  papers 
against  their  breast,  full  of  fear,  ready  to  fly,  but 
unable  to  walk. 

That  same  afternoon  also  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  editor  of  a  local  weekly,  De  Bilsenaar,  which 
was  not  allowed  to  appear  during  the  occupation 
of  the  place  by  the  Germans.  He  and  others  had  a 
great  many  things  to  tell  me. 

Not  half  of  the  requisitioned  meat  was  used  by 
the  Germans,  and  the  rest  was  simply  left  to  rot, 
whilst  the  starving  people  were  not  allowed  to  touch 
it.  Two  pigs  and  a  cow  were  shot  in  a  meadow,  but 
no  part  of  these  animals  had  been  used,  the  order  to 
bury  them  being  given  when  the  smell  became  un- 
endurable. In  some  places  the  Germans  indulged 
in  such  unspeakably  filthy  acts,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  mention  details. 

When  the  Germans  entered  Bilsen  for  the  first 
time,  four  persons  were  shot  in  front  of  the  town- 
hall;  fifteen  holes  were  still  to  be  seen  in  the  wall. 
Amongst  these  four  was  also  the  brother-in-law 
of  the  editor  of  the  Eilsenaar.  He  was  dragged 
out  of  his  house,  accused  of  having  shot,  although 
he  and  his  wife  and  children  were  at  that  moment 
saying  the  rosary.  His  wife  had  got  up  that  day 
for  the  first  time  after  her  confinement. 

The  unhappy  man  asserted  in  a  loud  voice  that 
he  was  innocent,  but  got  the  answer  that  he  would 
have  to  prove  that  later  on.  But  he  never  had  a 


184     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

chance  of  doing  that.  Arriving  at  the  market-place, 
he  and  three  others  were  simply  placed  against  the 
wall  and  shot.  He  could  not  even  have  spiritual 
assistance. 

Frequently  Protestant  services  were  held  in  the 
market-place,  conducted  by  a  parson,  and  the  in- 
variable beginning  and  end  of  that  parson's  allocu- 
tion was:  "There  is  one  God;  there  must  also  be 
one  Kaiser." 

A  good  many  lads  had  been  able  to  escape  from 
Bilsen  and  the  environs  to  Antwerp;  in  the  aggre- 
gate, 500  from  this  district,  and  more  went  every 
day.  They  were  driven  to  the  Belgian  army  by  all 
they  had  seen  and  experienced.  Often  one  heard 
women  and  girls  say:  uOh,  if  I  were  a  man,  if  I 
were  a  boy,  I  should  be  in  the  army  to-morrow!" 

I  was  sitting  comfortably  in  the  home  circle  of  the 
editor  of  De  Bilsenaar,  with  father,  mother,  and 
daughter.  They  had  one  son  of  eighteen,  who  was 
at  the  Junior  Seminary  at  Hasselt,  and  only  the  first 
Sunday  in  August  he  had  left  for  Heerenth  in  order 
to  offer  himself  as  a  missionary  aspirant.  The  next 
Wednesday  the  would-be  missionary,  an  only  son, 
enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Belgian  army.  .  .  .  He 
was  already  the  sixteenth  of  his  form  of  twenty- 
three  boys  at  the  college  at  Hasselt. 

The  father  got  up  and  went  to  a  small  cupboard 
from  which  he  took  some  papers,  and  his  eyes,  and 
those  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  became  moist  at 
once ;  letters  from  their  only  boy,  written  on  the  bat- 
tle-field !  He  read  them  out  with  a  broken  voice, 
frequently  interrupted  by  sobs.  I  said  nothing,  could 
not  utter  a  word. 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  185 

The  boy  also  had  been  obliged  to  retire  into 
France,  had  been  transported  from  Rheims  to  Havre, 
and  from  there,  across  the  sea,  back  to  Belgium. 
"Five  times  already,  my  dear  parents,  I  have  been 
in  the  fight;  I  have  asked  them  not  to  let  me  wait 
long  for  the  sixth.  Oh,  you  cannot  imagine  how 
glorious  it  is  to  be  allowed  to  fight  for  my  country ! 
Have  confidence  in  the  future,  dear  parents,  and 
say  a  paternoster  for  me  and  my  comrades  and  also 
one  for  our  Fatherland." 

Well,  I  could  not  keep  calm  when  I  heard  such 
things  read  by  a  father  from  a  letter  of  his  only 
son  on  the  battle-field;  that  is  impossible. 

The  next  morning  was  Sunday,  and  the  bells  sum- 
moned the  people  to  church.  But  nobody  went,  no- 
body dared  to  appear  in  the  street,  although  prayer- 
book  and  rosary  are  always  in  everybody's  hands 
during  these  days.  I  had  decided  to  go  to  the  sec- 
ond Mass,  but  as  nobody  had  come  to  the  first,  there 
was  no  second.  The  Dean  himself  said  that  the 
people  were  quite  right  not  to  come  to  church.  The 
previous  Sunday  the  Germans,  who  had  entered 
Lanaeken  suddenly,  had  posted  themselves  in  front 
of  the  church,  where  the  believers  attended  Holy 
Mass,  and  ordered  the  women  and  children  to  leave 
the  church,  but  the  men  to  stay.  When  all  the 
women  and  children  had  left,  the  Germans  entered 
the  building  and  .  .  .  found  not  a  single  man,  for 
all  had  left  quickly  by  the  back  door.  A  veritable 
battue  was  held  in  the  whole  district  for  lads  and 
young  man,  who  were  all  taken  away  as  prisoners 
by  the  Germans,  because  during  the  last  few  days 


186     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

great  numbers  had  escaped  to  the  north  and  enlisted 
as  volunteers  in  the  army. 

I  went  to  the  commander's  office,  and  on  the  way 
copied  the  following  Proclamation: — 

"PROCLAMATION 

"Private  motor-cars,  motor-bicycles,  and  bicycles 
are  only  allowed  to  move  about  in  the  districts  occu- 
pied by  the  German  army  if  driven  by  German  sol- 
diers, or  the  chauffeur  possesses  a  licence.  These  li- 
cences are  only  issued  by  the  local  commanders,  and 
only  in  urgent  cases.  The  motor-cars,  motor-bicycles, 
and  bicycles  will  be  seized  if  this  rule  is  infringed. 
Anyone  who  tries  to  push  through  the  German  out- 
posts shall  be  shot  at,  as  also  anyone  who  approaches 
them  in  such  a  manner  that  he  seems  to  be  a  spy. 

"Should  telegraph-  or  telephone-wires  be  cut  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  towns  and  villages,  these 
places  will  be  sentenced  to  pay  a  war-contribution, 
whether  the  inhabitants  are  guilty  or  not. 

"The  Governor-General  of  Belgium. 

"BARON  VON  DER  GOLTZ, 

"Field-Marshal." 

At  the  station  Major  Krittel  was  engaged  in  ex- 
amining a  civilian  and  his  wife.  The  man  had  been 
found  in  a  field ;  both  shook  from  nervous  excitement 
and  wept  profusely.  The  major  spoke  calmly  and 
encouragingly,  and  after  a  short  examination  both 
got  their  liberty.  Major  Krittel  was  also  very 
kind  to  me  again,  but  asked  emphatically  whether 
I  knew  that  writing  false  news  exposed  me  to  the 
danger  of  capital  punishment.  I  answered  that  I 
was  firmly  convinced  of  that.  He  then  gave  me 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  187 

another  proclamation  to  read  in  which  this  was  men- 
tioned, and  I  asked  and  got  permission  to  put  the 
document  in  my  pocket.  It  runs  as  follows : — 

"TONGRES. 

"24.9.1914, 

"PROCLAMATION 

"Several  cases  which  occurred  in  the  Province  of 
Limburg  oblige  me  to  acquaint  the  inhabitants  of  a 
number  of  regulations: 

"According  to  Clause  58,  Section  i,  of  the  Military 
Penal  Code,  sentence  of  capital  punishment  for 
treason  will  be  pronounced  against  those  who,  in- 
tending to  assist  an  enemy  army,  or  to  injure  the 
German  army: 

"i.  Commit  a  punishable  offence  mentioned  in 
Clause  90  of  the  German  Penal  Code. 

"2.  Injure  or  make  useless  roads  or  telegraphic 
instruments. 

"3.  Serve  the  enemy  as  guides  in  a  military  under- 
taking against  the  German  allied  forces,  or  mislead 
the  latter  when  serving  them  as  guides. 

"4.  Who  in  whatever  way  in  order  to  harass  or 
mislead  the  German  forces  make  military  or  other 
signals,  urge  to  flee,  or  prevent  the  reunion  of  strag- 
gling soldiers. 

"5.  Who  undertake  to  enter  into  verbal  or  writ- 
ten communication  with  persons  in  the  army  or  the 
fleet,  of  the  enemy  country  at  war  with  Germany, 
about  matters  relating  to  the  war  itself. 

"6.  Who  distribute  in  the  German  army  hostile 
incitements  or  communications. 

"7.  Who  neglect  necessary  precautions  which 
ought  to  be  taken  on  behalf  of  the  army. 


188     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"8.  Liberate  prisoners  of  war. 

"According  to  Clause  90  of  the  German  Penal 
Code,  sentence  of  penal  servitude  for  life  will  be 
pronounced  against  those : 

"i.  Who  surrender  to  the  enemy,  either  German 
troops  or  fortified  bulwarks,  trenches  or  fortified 
places,  or  defences,  as  also  parts  or  belongings  of 
the  German  army. 

"2.  Who  surrender  to  the  enemy  of  the  German 
forces  defensive  works,  ships  or  transports  of  the 
ffeet,  public  funds,  stocks  of  arms,  munitions,  or  other 
war  material,  as  also  bridges,  railways,  telegraphs, 
or  other  means  of  communication;  or  who  destroy 
them  or  make  them  useless  on  behalf  of  the  enemy. 

"3.  Supply  men  to  the  enemy  or  entice  away 
others  who  belong  to  the  German  army. 

"4.  Who  serve  the  enemy  as  a  spy,  lodge  hostile 
spies,  hide  them  or  aid  them. 

"And  it  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  it  is  forbidden 
to  distribute  newspapers  and  other  printed  matter 
published  in  the  part  of  Belgium  not  occupied  by  Ger- 
man forces.  It  is  forbidden  to  take  communications 
of  whatever  kind  from  these  parts  of  Belgium  and 
those  that  are  occupied  by  the  German  army.  These 
offences  will  be  punished  with  imprisonment.  Serious 
cases,  as,  for  example,  any  attempt  to  assist  the  hos- 
tile forces,  will  be  followed  by  sentence  of  death. 

"STERZEL, 
"Major  and  Commanding  Officer" 

I  had  also  to  promise  the  major  that  on  my  re- 
turn I  should  bring  with  me  a  copy  of  De  Tijd  in 
which  all  I  had  experienced  and  seen  in  Bilsen  was 
described,  and  also  a  box  of  Netherland  cigars, 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  189 

which  he  promised  to  pay  for ;  then  I  was  allowed  to 

go- 
As  I  went  a  patrol  marched  out — reinforcements 
had  again  come  from  Tongres — whose  task  was  to 
clear  the  district  of  the  enemy.  The  patrol  con- 
sisted of  six  Death-head  hussars,  about  forty  bi- 
cyclists, and  the  rest  infantry,  altogether  about  four 
hundred  men,  who  were  able  to  keep  together,  be- 
cause the  hussars  and  the  cyclists  proceeded  very 
slowly  and  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  Lanaeken. 
I  went  with  them,  chatting  with  one  of  the  officers. 
As  soon  as  they  had  got  to  the  road,  the  greatest 
caution  was  observed.  The  hussars  went  in  front, 
followed  by  some  of  the  infantry,  all  in  loose  forma- 
tion, continually  looking  about  in  all  directions,  with 
the  finger  at  the  cock  of  the  rifle. 

Not  a  single  person  was  seen  on  the  road,  and 
everything  went  well  until  we  got  to  the  village 
of  Veldwezelt.  Suddenly,  quite  unexpectedly,  a  vio- 
lent rifle  fire  and  a  continued  whistling  of  bullets  was 
heard  from  the  neighbourhood  of  a  house  close  by. 
Although  the  soldiers  later  on  asserted  to  the  con- 
trary, I  was  sure  that  the  firing  did  not  come  from 
the  house,  but  from  some  underwood  near  by. 

After  some  firing  one  of  the  hussars  was  hit  and 
fell  from  his  horse,  which  ran  away.  A  few  seconds 
later  another  hussar  was  hit  in  his  arm  and  his  horse 
in  its  hind-part.  Rider  and  horse  flew  away  from 
the  fire.  The  Germans  had,  of  course,  immediately 
answered  the  firing,  and  pulled  me  with  them  behind 
the  bend  of  the  road,  where  I  lay  down  with  them 
flat  on  the  ground.  A  Belgian  soldier  who  came 
out  of  the  shrubbery  with  three  others  was  shot,  but 


190     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

as  the  firing  went  on  for  some  time  and  the  hussars 
and  cyclists  began  to  take  to  their  heels,  some  order 
was  given,  and  the  Germans  jumped  up  and  ran 
away  in  the  direction  of  Bilsen.  I  was  told  to  come 
with  them,  so  I  also  ran,  and  we  all  arrived  at  Bilsen 
out  of  breath.  As  soon  as  they  had  recovered  their 
breath  they  gave  vent  to  their  rage. 

They  yelled  and  shouted  and  said  that  Bilsen  and 
the  whole  district  must  be  burned  down,  that  the 
major  was  far  too  kind,  that  they  were  cowardly 
soldiers  who  hid  themselves  in  houses  and  dared  not 
fight  an  honest  fight  in  the  open,  that  civilians  had 
also  been  shooting,  and  so  on.  I  pointed  out  that 
the  firing  did  not  come  from  the  house,  but  from 
the  shrubbery  near  the  house;  that  nobody  could 
have  seen  a  civilian  shooting.  As  they  insisted,  I 
said  with  a  laugh  that  they  had  seen  ghosts.  That 
excited  them  so,  that  they  came  on  to  me  in  a  rage, 
and  asked  whether  this  was  a  laughing  matter?  And 
they  would  surely  have  used  violence  had  not  the 
sergeant  intervened. 

I  went  immediately  to  the  major  to  give  him  a 
detailed  report  of  the  occurrence,  and  I  believe  that 
I  may  say  without  boasting  that  owing  to  my  inter- 
vention Veldwezelt  was  not  burned  down,  although 
other  frightful  things  happened  there. 

The  hussar  who  was  first  hit,  died  later  on.  The 
other  appeared  to  be  only  slightly  wounded  in  the 
arm. 

Of  course  I  had  to  remain  at  Bilsen  after  this 
adventure.  The  major  appeased  his  men  somewhat, 
mounted  a  ridiculously  small  horse,  and  marched  out 
at  the  head  of  his  men.  Two  hundred  men  who  had 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  191 

just  arrived  from  Tongres  were  added  as  reinforce- 
ments to  the  major's  troops,  who  had  now  about 
six  hundred  men  with  him.  Thus  they  went  again 
to  Veldwezelt,  but  the  few  Belgians,  who  were  no 
fools,  had  left  of  course. 

Towards  evening  the  major  returned  with  his 
men,  who  in  loud  voices  sounded  forth  all  sorts  of 
patriotic  songs,  elated  because  they  had  driven  away 
the  enemy.  As  he  entered  I  addressed  the  major, 
who  with  a  grand  sweep  of  his  arm  called  out  to 
me:  "You  may  go  now;  I  have  cleared  the  whole 
district." 

I  was  very  curious  to  know  what  had  happened 
in  Veldwezelt.  When  I  came  near  the  village,  I 
noticed  great  activity;  men,  women,  and  children 
were  busy  with  saws  and  hatchets  cutting  down  all 
the  trees  and  shrubs  along  the  road. 

Beautiful  hedges,  which  had  been  grown  artificially 
in  fine  forms  for  years,  fell  under  the  blows  of  the 
hatchets.  The  reason?  Before  the  day  was  over 
all  hedges,  all  shrubs,  and  all  trees  had  to 
be  cut  down,  or  the  village  would  be  set  on 
fire.  Still  shaking  and  trembling  in  consequence  of 
the  terrors  they  had  experienced  during  the  day,  old 
men,  women,  and  children  with  red  flushed  cheeks 
joined  in  the  work;  they  had  not  even  taken  time  to 
change  their  Sunday-  for  their  working-day  clothes. 

And  if  that  had  been  all!  But  dozens  of  boys 
and  young  men  had  been  taken  to  Bilsen  as  prisoners. 
There  had  been  a  real  hunt  for  all  able-bodied  lads 
who  might  be  of  any  use  in  the  Belgian  army. 
Women  and  old  men  were  compelled  by  threats  to 
betray  the  hiding-places  of  their  sons  or  husbands, 


192      THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and  if  one  of  them  was  found  hidden  away  under 
straw  or  in  barns,  he  was  ill-treated  or  beaten  with 
rifle-butts.  Some  fled  to  Maastricht,  others  to  the 
Campine,  the  northern  part  of  Belgium.  I  presume 
that  both  groups  have  at  length  arrived  in  Ant- 
werp. 

Dr.  Beckers,  Government  veterinary  surgeon  at 
Veldwezelt,  had  also  been  taken  to  Bilsen  as  a  host- 
age. The  Germans  asserted  that  the  Belgians  in 
Lanaeken  had  taken  prisoner  a  German  military 
veterinary  surgeon  who  looked  after  the  horses,  and 
now  intended  to  keep  Dr.  Beckers  until  the  Belgians 
should  have  released  the  German  military  veteri- 
nary surgeon. 

During  the  occupation  a  war  contribution  of  150,- 
ooo  francs  in  silver  had  been  imposed  on  Bilsen, 
although  there  was  hardly  any  silver  left  in  the  place. 
This  punishment  was  inflicted  because  Belgian  sol- 
diers had  destroyed  the  railway  in  two  places. 

Near  Lanaeken  I  met  suddenly  a  Belgian  soldier, 
who  did  not  trouble  me  after  I  had  shown  him  my 
papers.  I  was  quite  astonished  to  find  that  man 
there  all  by  himself,  whilst  so  many  Germans  were 
only  a  few  miles  away.  When  I  asked  whether  he 
knew  this,  he  answered: 

"Yes." 

"Are  you  not  afraid?" 

"No." 

"But  when  the  Germans  come!" 

"Then  I  shall  shoot." 

"But  that  will  mean  death  for  yourself." 

"What  does  that  matter?  What  do  I  care  for 
life?  I  come  from  Dinant;  they  have  murdered  my 


ROUND  ABOUT  BILSEN  193 

dear  parents,  burned  our  house.  What  good  is  it 
to  me  to  be  alive?  I  requested  them  to  give  me  this 
dangerous  outpost.  When  the  Germans  come,  I'll 
shoot,  and  then  my  comrades  at  Lanaeken  will  be 
warned.  Then  I'll  kill  three  or  four  of  them,  but 
after  that  I  shall  be  ready  to  die  myself." 

The  man  looked  at  me  with  glittering  eyes  full  of 
the  passion  of  revenge.  I  pressed  his  hand  and  went 
on. 

Lanaeken  seemed  to  have  been  reoccupied  by  the 
Belgians,  after  the  occurrences  of  the  previous  Sun- 
day. When  I  entered  the  place,  I  found  the  greater 
number  of  the  men  round  about  the  station. 

The  Belgians  who  had  fired  at  the  Germans  near 
Veldwezelt  had  also  come  back  there.  They  were 
eleven  motor-cyclists  who  had  been  reconnoitring; 
when  near  Veldwezelt  they  saw  the  Germans  ap- 
proach and  hid  themselves  in  the  shrubberies,  in- 
tending to  attack  them.  The  only  wounded  person 
they  had  was  only  slightly  hurt,  and  within  a  few 
days  he  would  be  able  to  rejoin  his  comrades. 

Mr.  van  Wersch,  whom  I  mentioned  above,  and 
who  shared  imprisonment  with  me  at  Bilsen,  had 
a  rather  disagreeable  adventure  a  few  days  after- 
wards, when  he  had  the  misfortune  of  being  mistaken 
for  the  war-correspondent  of  De  Tijd. 

My  letter  to  that  paper  about  what  had  happened 
in  Bilsen  seemed  to  have  reached  the  German  au- 
thorities at  that  place,  and  these  gentlemen  were 
not  at  all  pleased  with  it.  When  Mr.  van  Wersch 
came  back  to  the  place  a  few  days  afterwards  he 
was  mistaken  for  myself,  and  arrested  at  once. 

After  having  been  searched  all  over,  he  was  es- 


194      THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

corted  by  a  sergeant  and  two  soldiers  to  Tongres, 
where  they  took  him  to  Captain  Spuer,  the  same  fat 
officer  who,  so  kindly,  had  called  me  a  "swine." 

When  they  arrived  at  Tongres,  the  captain  hap- 
pened to  have  returned  to  Bilsen,  whither  the  pris- 
oner was  brought  back  by  the  same  escort.  But 
Captain  Spuer  seemed  not  to  be  found  there  either, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  major  allowed  Mr.  van 
Wersch  at  last  to  go  on. 

When  he  passed  the  village  of  Veldwezelt  he  met 
a  motor-car  ...  in  which  was  Captain  Spuer.  He 
recognised  his  victim  at  once,  and  also  mistook  him 
for  the  war  correspondent  of  De  Tijd.  Mr.  van 
Wersch  was  immediately  detained  again,  and  taken 
to  a  farm-house  in  the  neighbourhood,  where  he  was 
threatened  with  a  revolver,  and  roared  at:  "You  are 
the  correspondent  of  De  Tijd." 

Mr.  van  Wersch  denied  this  of  course,  but  never- 
theless they  took  him  to  Bilsen  in  the  motor-car. 
There  he  was  searched  once  more,  the  Netherland 
letters  he  had  with  him  were  taken  away,  as  also 
i, 800  francs.  But  when  he  was  released  they  gave 
him  back  the  money. 

Mr.  van  Wersch  was  told  that  they  intended  to 
send  him  to  Tongres,  but  after  a  deliberation  be- 
tween Captain  Spuer  and  Major  Krittel,  a  very 
kind  man  as  I  have  already  remarked,  he  was  allowed 
to  stay  at  Bilsen  until  the  examination  should  be 
over.  He  was  allowed  to  walk  through  the  townlet 
under  military  escort  at  first,  but  later  entirely  free, 
and  to  sleep  at  the  station  under  military  guard. 
After  another  search,  he  was  at  last  allowed  to  leave 
for  Maastricht  on  Monday  morning. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP 

MANY  days  before  the  Germans  marched  upon  Ant- 
werp I  announced  the  siege  in  my  paper.  In  Lou- 
vain  I  had  seen  all  the  preparations  and  also  the 
arrival  of  the  Austrian  30  *5  cm.  which  were  intended 
to  batter  to  ruins  the  bulwark  of  the  national  de- 
fence. 

As  soon  as  the  siege  had  begun,  I  tried  to  join 
the  Germans,  via  Louvain,  and  left  Maastricht  again 
by  motor-car.  Only  a  few  miles  from  the  Nether- 
land  frontier  I  met  the  first  soldiers,  Belgians. 
When  they  saw  the  Orange  flag  with  the  word 
"Nederland,"  they  let  us  pass  without  any  trouble. 
A  little  farther  on  the  road  walked  a  civilian,  who, 
by  putting  up  his  hands,  requested  or  commanded 
us  to  stop.  We  took  the  most  prudent  part,  and 
did  stop.  The  man  asked  in  bad  Dutch  to  be  al- 
lowed to  drive  on  with  us  to  Brussels,  but  the  motor 
was  not  going  beyond  Tirlemont;  outside  that  place 
motor-traffic  was  forbidden.  The  .stranger  got  in 
all  the  same,  in  order  to  have  a  convenient  journey 
at  least  so  far. 

My  new  companion  tried  desperately  to  speak  as 
good  Dutch  as  possible,  but  failed  in  the  most  de- 

195 


196     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

plorable  manner;  every  time  pure  German  words 
came  in  between.  He  told  a  story  that  he  stayed 
at  Maastricht  as  a  refugee,  and  now  wanted  to  fetch 
his  children  from  a  girls'  boarding-school  at  Brus- 
sels. I  pretended  to  believe  every  word,  and  after 
he  had  forgotten  the  first  story  he  made  up  another, 
saying  that  he  came  from  Liege,  where  some  officers 
who  were  billeted  on  him  were  kind  enough  to  give 
him  a  chance  of  going  to  Brussels,  to  purchase  stock 
for  his  business. 

When  we  were  stopped  by  German  outposts  he 
put  out  of  the  window  a  paper  at  which  they  just 
glanced,  stood  to  attention,  and  said  that  all  was 
well.  They  did  not  even  want  to  see  my  papers. 
In  a  casual  way  I  asked  what  a  miraculous  sort  of 
paper  he  had,  and  then  he  pretended  that,  by  the 
help  of  those  officers  who  were  quartered  on  him, 
he  had  got  a  certificate  from  the  Governor  of  Liege 
with  the  order  to  treat  him  with  great  respect  and 
also  to  allow  him  to  travel  by  military  trains  if  the 
opportunity  happened  to  offer  itself. 

In  Tongres  it  was  necessary  to  get  a  passport 
signed,  and  pay  three  marks  each,  and  ten  marks 
for  the  motor.  But  the  office  of  the  commander 
was  not  open  before  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
according  to  the  soldiers  who  were  doing  sentry-go 
in  front  of  the  town-hall.  Wait  till  three  o'clock? 
No  fear!  My  companion  showed  his  miraculous 
paper  again,  and  was  allowed  to  go  in,  but  only 
by  himself.  I  gave  him  my  papers  and  those  of  the 
chauffeur,  and  also  wanted  to  give  him  sixteen  marks, 
three  each  for  the  chauffeur  and  myself  and  ten  for 
the  motor,  but  he  said  that  that  was  unnecessary. 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     197 

Within  twenty  minutes  the  fellow  came  back  with 
our  verified  passports  on  which  the  words  "Paid: 
Free"  were  written. 

A  lot  of  artillery  and  a  great  number  of  soldiers 
were  in  the  market-place  ready  to  start.  The  com- 
mander sent  one  of  his  officers  to  us,  who  addressed 
me,  examined  my  papers,  and  then  said  that  I  had 
surely  met  Belgian  soldiers  on  the  way.  Of  course 
I  denied  this  emphatically. 

"Don't  you  know  then  whether  there  are  Belgian 
military  in  Vroenhoven?" 

"No." 

"And  in  Lanaeken?" 

"I  know  nothing  about  that." 

"Didn't  hear  either  about  it?" 

"No." 

Evidently  he  seemed  to  confide  in  me,  and  told 
me  that  they  had  been  ordered  to  clear  the  north- 
east corner  of  Belgium  of  enemies,  and  that  by  and 
by  they  were  going  to  march  upon  Lanaeken  first 
of  all. 

When  he  was  gone  I  gazed  for  some  moments  in 
silence  at  all  these  men  and  guns,  destined  to  go  and 
destroy  by  and  by  the  heroes,  who  have  done  so 
much  harm  to  the  Germans,  under  command  of  the 
brave  lieutenant  Count  de  Caritat,  burgomaster  of 
Lanaeken.  I  thought  of  that  brave  Belgian  from 
Dinant  whom  I  met  on  his  solitary  outpost  outside 
Lanaeken,  and  if  I  had  acted  according  to  my  heart's 
desire,  I  should  have  sneaked  away  to  the  threatened 
point  in  order  to  warn  those  courageous  men  of  the 
appoaching  disaster. 

My  mysterious  companion  touched  my  shoulder 


198     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

and  asked  whether  we  should  not  go  on.  "All  right," 
I  said,  and  we  got  in  again. 

At  Tirlemont  they  were  very  busy  rebuilding  the 
burnt  houses,  although  all  day  long  the  air  shook 
from  the  heavy  roar  of  the  cannon  near  Antwerp. 

I  sent  the  motor  back  to  The  Netherlands,  and 
went  with  my  companion  to  the  commander's  office, 
where  we  got  a  permit  to  go  on  by  military  train. 

From  the  side  of  Brussels  many  soldiers  arrived 
at  the  station,  who  had  all  been  wounded  near  Ant- 
werp. 

After  a  long  time  we  were  able  to  enter  a  train 
taking  numerous  new  troops  to  Antwerp.  We  occu- 
pied a  first-class  compartment,  which  looked  like  a 
cattle-truck:  pieces  of  bread,  paper,  cigar-ends,  and 
tobacco  were  lying  on  the  floor  and  the  seats;  the 
ledges  of  the  windows  were  full  of  candle-grease. 

We  jogged  on  to  Louvain  at  a  rate  of  not  quite 
three  miles  an  hour.  Here  and  there  we  had  to 
wait  a  half  or  a  whole  hour  to  let  trains  from  Brus- 
sels pass.  The  reason  why  the  train  went  so  slowly 
was  because  a  week  before  a  Belgian  patrol  had 
daringly  broken  through  the  outposts  and  destroyed 
the  railway  near  Lovenjool.  That  village  was  then 
burned  down  completely  and  the  vicar  made  a  pris- 
oner. 

Near  Louvain  the  train  had  to  stop  for  another 
two  hours,  before  it  was  allowed  to  enter  the  station, 
which  was  quite  close  by.  I  thanked  my  stars  that 
at  last  I  got  rid  of  my  companion,  who  travelled 
on  to  Brussels,  whereas  I  got  out  at  Louvain.  It 
was  too  late  to  be  allowed  to  walk  in  the  streets,  but 
the  commander  gave  me  an  escort  of  two  soldiers, 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     199 

who  were  to  take  me  to  the  mission  house  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

It  was  very  cold  that  evening,  and  the  outposts 
at  Heverlee  had  all  wrapped  themselves  up  in  blank- 
ets. Once  or  twice  we  were  stopped,  but  the  pass- 
word of  my  escort  removed  all  difficulties. 

"Is  it  much  farther?"  one  of  my  armed  guides 
asked. 

"No,  only  a  couple  of  minutes." 

"I  am  thirsty.  I  should  like  very  much  to  have 
a  glass  of  beer." 

"Yes,"   I  replied,   "but  everything  is  closed." 

"Yes,  yes,  but  we  shall  like  it  also  to-morrow, 
hi,  hi,  hi!" 

It  is  as  if  the  curse  of  drink  always  pursued  the 
garrison  in  Louvain,  for  when  and  wherever  I  met 
German  soldiers  in  that  town,  or  came  into  touch 
with  them,  they  were  always  drunk.  That  evening, 
also,  I  was  glad  when  I  arrived  at  the  mission  house, 
tipped  the  men,  and  got  rid  of  them  until  the  next 
day. 

The  Fathers  were  already  in  bed,  but  I  soon  got 
them  out  again.  Within  ten  minutes  I  was  enjoying 
what,  in  the  circumstances,  was  a  splendid  meal, 
and  the  Fathers  were  absorbed  in  the  daily  and  illus- 
trated papers  which  I  had  brought  for  them. 

The  conditions  at  Louvain  were  the  same  as  some 
weeks  ago :  hunger  and  misery.  Some  male  prisoners 
had  come  back,  and  also  over  150  female  prisoners, 
who  for  more  than  a  month  had  been  in  captivity 
in  the  Munster  Camp.  During  the  last  days  a  real 
reign  of  terror  ruled.  Hostages  were  continually 
claimed,  and  nearly  always  they  took  clerics.  The 


200      THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

week  before  the  people  had  feared  a  new  destruc- 
tion. It  was  said  that  there  had  been  shooting  again, 
but  happily  the  inquiry  showed  that  a  German  soldier 
did  it,  and  he  was  punished.  The  shot  had  been 
fired  in  front  of  the  Josephite  convent. 

A  remarkable  strike  had  taken  place  in  the  Leo 
XIII  Hospital.  The  head  of  this  institution,  Dr. 
Tits,  also  had  been  taken  as  a  hostage.  It  was 
the  most  blackguardly  act  one  can  think  of,  to  take 
away  the  man  who  had  spent  night  and  day  mostly 
nursing  wounded  Germans.  Dr.  Noyons  found  it  so 
harsh  that  he  took  counsel  with  the  other  doctors, 
and  they  decided  not  to  resume  work  before  Dr.  Tits 
came  back.  This  of  course  happened  immediately. 

The  man  who  bears  the  full  responsibility  for  the 
destruction  of  Louvain,  General  von  Manteuffel,  had 
left  already  when  I  visited  the  town  this  time,  and 
nobody  has  ever  been  able  to  find  out  what  became  of 
him.  The  latest  proclamations  were  all  signed:  "By 
order  of  the  General  Government  of  Brussels — the 
Etappe-Commander." 

Louvain  was  of  course  on  tenterhooks  about  the 
course  of  the  siege  of  Antwerp,  but  everybody  was 
quite  confident  that  this  fortress  would  withstand  a 
long,  long  time,  although  they  saw  quite  well  that 
the  German  attack  was  very  fierce,  for  the  tremen- 
dous roar  of  the  cannon  never  ceased  for  a  moment. 

A  walking  excursion  of  one  day  took  me  to  Brus- 
sels. I  might  have  done  it  in  a  few  hours  less,  but 
I  lost  my  way  in  the  wood-paths  near  Brussels,  for 
at  a  certain  moment  I  read  on  a  finger-post,  "Brus- 
sels four  miles" ;  and  after  walking  for  a  long  time, 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP 

and  wondering  whether  I  should  ever  finish  those 
four  miles,  I  read  suddenly:  "Brussels — eight 
miles!"  That  gave  me  such  a  shock  that  once  more 
I  had  nearly  taken  the  wrong  way. 

I  put  all  my  hope  on  a  car  that  loomed  up  in  the 
distance.  It  was  assisting  in  the  reprovisioning  of 
Brussels,  and  only  for  that  reason  had  the  carman 
got  permission  to  use  it.  I  signalled  to  him,  and 
he  stopped — a  big  lout  of  a  man  who  evidently 
had  had  a  drop  too  much;  he  would  not  allow  me 
to  ride  on  with  him,  because  he  preferred  to  remain 
alone  on  his  car  than  to  help  a  spy.  "I  am  a 
Belgian,  a  Belgian,  and  not  a  traitor,  not  a  traitor 
of  my  country,"  he  assured  me,  with  a  lot  of  beery 
tears.  In  any  case  the  man  meant  well,  and  prob- 
ably he  had  tried  to  drown  his  troubles  in  drink. 

In  other  circumstances  I  should  not  have  taken 
so  much  trouble,  but  I  was  so  tired  that  I  gave  the 
man  all  my  papers  to  make  him  see  that  I  was  a 
Netherland  journalist.  But  according  to  him  that 
didn't  matter  at  all,  because  the  Netherlanders  were 
quite  as  dirty  as  the  Germans,  for  they  had  allowed 
the  enemies  of  Belgium  to  pass  through  their  coun- 
try, and  so  on.  In  a  torrent  of  words  I  told  him 
that  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it,  and  that 
the  Belgian  Government  would  surely  lose  no  time 
in  declaring  the  same  as  soon  as  the  country  was 
free  again.  At  last  I  appealed  to  his  heart  by  re- 
lating all  the  Netherlanders  had  done  for  the  Bel- 
gians. This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  I  was  allowed 
to  drive  home  with  him. 

At  every  inn  he  felt  thirsty,  and  made  me  feel 
quite  clearly  that  I  had  every  reason  to  treat  him. 


202     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

And  every  time  that  we  went  back  to  our  seats  he 
said  again: 

"Yes,  but  now  you  see  if  after  all  you  are  a  spy, 
you  see,  then,  you  see,  I'll  knock  you  down,  you 
see?" 

"Yes,  yes,  but  now  listen;  I  have  told  you  already 
that  .  .  ." 

"But  don't  you  see  if  you  should,  don't  you  see, 
you  see  I  am  a  patriot." 

"Oh,  but  listen :  my  papers  .  .  ." 

"Yes,  but  you  see  they  may  be  forged,  you  see. 
They  may  shoot  me,  you  see,  but  a  traitor,  you  see, 
no,  then  I  would  knock  you  down,  you  see  .  .  ." 

That  happened  each  time  that  he  started  again, 
and  I  was  more  tired  by  trying  to  convince  this  man 
than  if  I  had  walked  all  the  rest  of  the  way  to 
Brussels.  But  after  all  I  got  there. 

There  was  much  more  liveliness  in  the  Belgian 
capital  than  during  my  first  visit;  it  was  as  if  the 
bombardment  of  Antwerp  had  wakened  the  people 
out  of  their  slumber,  an  apparent  slumber  only,  for 
no  citizens  were  ever  more  faithful  to  the  Belgian 
cause  than  those  of  Brussels. 

There  was  shouting  enough  in  the  streets  and 
on  the  boulewards;  here  hawkers  tried  to  sell  maps 
of  the  Fortress  of  Antwerp ;  there  women  and  girls 
offered  scarf-pins  with  the  portrait  of  Burgomaster 
Max.  Everybody  had  such  a  pin,  and  I  soon  sported 
one  too,  for  only  then  did  these  lady-sellers  leave 
me  alone. 

The  German  proclamations  in  Brussels  were 
nearly  as  numerous  as  the  Max  pins.  They  showered 
them  during  the  last  days  on  the  town,  the  one 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     203 

more  insolent  than  the  other.  After  reading  those 
things,  a  proclamation  by  Burgomaster  Max  affected 
me  beneficially,  whenever  I  could  find  one  amongst 
the  mass  of  other  bills  posted  on  the  walls.  Such  a 
document  testified  to  a  grand  soul  and  a  firm  char- 
acter, which  vindicated  courageously  the  rights  of 
the  oppressed  people. 

In  the  streets  and  in  the  cafes  I  saw  a  great  many 
marines  who  had  taken  part  in  the  fights  near  Ant- 
werp and  were  sent  to  Brussels  for  a  few  days'  rest. 
It  was  remarkable  that  so  many  of  them  who  had 
only  lately  looked  death  in  the  face,  thought  that 
they  could  not  amuse  themselves  better  than  by 
mixing  with  girls  of  the  worst  description.  Although 
I  cannot,  of  course,  always  believe  what  soldiers, 
fresh  back  from  a  fight,  assert  in  their  over-excited 
condition,  I  assumed  that  I  might  conclude  that 
things  went  badly  with  the  defence  of  Antwerp. 

A  trip  from  Brussels  to  the  scene  of  the  fight 
convinced  me  still  more.  I  passed  some  time  with 
the  artillery  which  had  already  silenced  Waelhem, 
and  was  now  used  against  the  other  defences.  The 
sight  of  such  an  action  was  less  interesting  than  one 
might  think,  as  I  could  not  get  to  the  places  where 
the  infantry  were  storming.  Only  the  thunder  of 
all  these  guns  overwhelmed  and  gave  me  an  idea  of 
the  terror  that  was  created. 

From  Antwerp,  which  I  could  see  clearly  from 
the  positions  of  the  artillery  near  Waelhem,  high 
columns  of  smoke  rose  up  from  the  Belgian  artillery, 
which  was  harassing  the  German  positions. 

Here  I  also  saw  in  action  one  of  the  30*5  cm. 
Austrian  howitzers  mentioned  before.  The  clumsy 


204     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

monster  was  constantly  being  shunted  on  a  rail 
forward  and  backward,  and  at  long  intervals  sent 
a  gigantic  projectile  to  the  threatened  quarters.  The 
sound  was  terrific,  and  the  pressure  of  the  air  made 
people  at  a  great  distance  tremble  on  the  ground. 
The  Austrian  artillerists  were  still  equipped  as  if  they 
had  to  fight  in  a  rough,  mountainous  country;  the 
soles  of  their  shoes  were  all  over  covered  with  hob- 
nails. 

The  Red  Cross  Service  was  well  arranged,  the 
wounded  were  transported  regularly,  a  large  number 
of  motor-cars  being  used. 

All  soldiers  and  officers  took  the  siege  of  the  great 
fortress  calmly,  convinced  that  at  the  most  it  would 
be  able  to  hold  out  for  very  few  days.  Reliable 
information  soon  gave  me  the  same  impression, 
although  I  had  wished  it  might  have  been  quite  dif- 
ferent. When  I  left  the  scene  of  the  fight  all  the 
forts  from  Waelhem  to  St.  Catherine- Waver  had 
been  silenced  and  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans,  who 
would  soon  attack  the  inner  circle  of  forts. 

In  Brussels  the  people  seemed  to  be  of  a  different 
opinion.  German  reports  about  successes  obtained 
were  simply  not  believed,  and  people  persisted  in 
their  opinion  that  Antwerp  would  be  invincible. 
The  more  reports  of  victories  the  Germans  posted 
on  the  walls,  the  more  excited  people  became,  and 
palmed  off  upon  each  other  all  sorts  of  victories  of 
the  Allies. 

At  the  Cafe  Quatre  Bras,  near  Tervueren,  the 
innkeeper  told  me  that  the  Germans  had  asked  the 
Netherland  Government  for  permission  to  place  a 
42  cm.  on  Netherland  territory  in  order  to  be  able 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     205 

to  shell  Antwerp  also  from  that  side,  but  that  the 
Netherland  Government  had  refused.  I  tried  as 
hard  as  possible  to  explain  to  the  man  that  all  stories 
of  such  requests  were  mere  gossip.  When  more  and 
more  people  entered  the  cafe  I  withdrew  into  a 
corner.  They  were  all  very  excited,  and  some  of 
them  had  drunk  more  than  was  good  for  them. 
They  related  with  violent  gesticulations  that  the 
Allies  had  surrounded  Brussels  and  might  be  ex- 
pected to  enter  the  town  at  any  moment,  that  all 
was  over  with  the  Germans,  and  so  on.  Shouts  of 
uVive  la  Belgique!"  and  "Vive  notre  roi !"  sounded 
until  suddenly  I  drew  their  attention.  They  looked 
me  up  and  down  critically,  and  one  of  them  asked: 

"Who  are  you?" 

"A  Netherland  journalist,  who  is  trying  to  get 
news  for  his  paper." 

"What,  a  Netherlander! — a  Netherlander!  All 
traitors!  You  are  helping  the  Germans,  but  we  are 
not  afraid  of  either  German  or  Netherlander." 

They  crowded  threateningly  round  me,  getting 
more  and  more  excited. 

I  saw  that  I  must  act,  and  jumped  on  a  chair. 

"What,"  I  exclaimed,  "you  dare  to  say  that  the 
Netherlanders  act  with  the  Germans?  No,  shall 
I  tell  you  something?  The  Germans  have  asked 
the  Netherland  Government  for  permission  to  place 
a  42  cm.  gun  on  their  territory  to  shell  Antwerp 
from  that  side,  but  the  Netherland  Government 
have  refused," 

"Lies,  gossip." 

"Lies,  gossip?    Ask  the  proprietor." 

"Yes,  men,  what  the  gentleman  says  is  true." 


206     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

The  rest  was  lost  to  me,  for  the  men  crowded 
round  the  innkeeper,  who  now  aired  his  knowledge 
about  the  occurrence  and  evidently  spoke  with  true 
conviction.  At  the  end  of  the  conversation  they 
took  their  tankards  from  the  bar,  and  shouted  and 
cried:  "Ah,  well,  if  that  is  so,  vive  la  Hollande! 
vive  la  Belgique!  vive  notre  roi!"  Suddenly  we 
were  the  best  of  friends. 

In  Louvain  people  would  not  believe  that  Antwerp 
was  on  the  point  of  surrendering,  and  persisted  in  the 
opinion  that  the  fortress  would  hold  out  much 
longer,  and  was  in  a  better  position  than  ever 
before. 

The  German  officers  at  the  commander's  office 
were  elated  in  consequence  of  the  reports  received, 
and  also  told  me  that  Antwerp  would  not  be  able 
to  hold  out  for  more  than  two  days.  They  also  tried 
to  explain  this  to  the  people  in  the  hall  who  were 
waiting  for  their  passports.  I  followed  the  con- 
versation, but  not  very  closely,  and  one  of  the  officers 
explained  on  a  map  what  he  asserted.  Willy-nilly, 
because  they  had  to  get  their  passports,  the  wait- 
ing people  listened  to  him.  Suddenly  I  heard  him 
say:  "And  after  all  we  might  have  surrounded  Ant- 
werp also  on  the  north  by  crossing  Netherland  ter- 
ritory, as  we  did  when  we  invaded  Belgium." 

Those  words  gave  me  a  shock,  for  I  had  heard 
that  German  officers  always  tried  to  encourage  the 
Belgians  in  their  wrong  opinion  about  the  alleged 
violation  of  Netherland  neutrality,  but  I  had  not 
been  able  to  believe  it.  With  an  innocent  face  I 
asked  the  officer: 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP    207 

"Where  did  the  Germans  cross  Netherland  ter- 
ritory?" 

"Near  Maastricht.  You  know  where  Maastricht 
is?" 

And  he  summoned  me  to  look  at  the  map,  where 
he  pointed  out  to  me  where  Maastricht  was. 

"Hullo!"  I  said,  "but  in  those  days  I  was  in 
and  about  Maastricht,  but  I  never  noticed  anything 
of  it." 

"And  yet  it  is  so.  Are  you  perhaps  a  Nether- 
lander?"' 

"Oh  yes,  I  am  a  Netherland  journalist." 

"Is  that  so?  I  beg  your  pardon,  but  won't  you 
come  with  me?  I  suppose  that  you  want  a  passport. 
I  will  take  you  to  the  commander." 

He  was  quite  upset,  and  evidently  thought  that 
the  best  plan  was  to  muzzle  me  by  taking  me  away 
from  the  others  as  quickly  as  possible. 

I  asked  and  got  the  commander's  permission  to 
travel  to  Liege  by  military  train,  and  from  there  to 
The  Netherlands,  not  only  for  myself,  but  also  for 
a  Netherland  girl  of  nine  years,  whose  parents  in 
Amsterdam  had  repeatedly  and  persistently  asked 
me  to  see  whether  there  would  be  any  possibility 
of  letting  their  little  girl  come  back  from  a  Louvain 
boarding-school.  The  Sisters  with  whom  she  was 
let  her  go  with  me  when  I  showed  them  a  letter 
from  her  father.  That  child  had  already  seen  a 
good  deal !  The  Sisters  had  fled  with  all  the  children 
at  the  time  of  the  conflagration,  and  hidden  them- 
selves for  days  in  a  farm  in  the  neighbourhood. 

During  the  last  days  hundreds  of  lads  had  left 
Louvain  for  The  Netherlands,  and  the  migration 


208      THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

went  on  throughout  the  whole  occupied  part  of 
Belgium.  It  was  the  exodus  of  the  levies  of  1914 
and  1915,  who  had  been  called  up,  and  many  of 
whom  had  been  sent  to  Germany  as  prisoners.  The 
Germans  themselves  had  not  a  little  furthered  the 
flight  of  these  crowds;  by  proclamations  they  had 
warned  the  lads  not  to  try  to  escape,  for  otherwise 
all  of  the  levies  of  '14  and  '15  would  be  taken 
prisoners,  and  the  parents  of  the  fugitives  would 
be  punished.  At  Heverlee  and  Louvain  the  lads 
of  both  levies  had  to  present  themselves  every  Friday 
at  this  station.  The  consequence  was  that  the  fol- 
lowing Friday  not  one  single  boy  of  those  levies 
was  to  be  found  in  either  place. 

No  more  wounded  were  taken  to  the  hospitals  of 
Louvain,  as  it  had  been  decided  to  send  them 
straight  on  to  Germany  for  the  present;  yet  there 
were  many  wounded  men  who  were  being  nursed 
there  already,  and  the  doctors  had  their  hands  full 
attending  to  the  wounded  who  passed  the  town. 
Dr.  Noyons  told  me  that  the  previous  Sunday  a 
train  with  600  wounded  had  arrived  from  North- 
ern France,  and  he  and  his  assistants  had  been  re- 
quested "just"  to  dress  the  wounds  again  of  some  of 
them.  The  condition  of  these  unfortunate  men  must 
have  been  awful;  not  one  had  a  dressing  less  than 
eight  days  old.  Most  of  them  had  had  it  on  much 
longer,  and  then  these  were  merely  emergency  dress- 
ings. They  were  laid  on  straw  in  cattle  trucks,  many 
of  them  even  in  filth,  and  infection  had  worsened 
their  condition  to  a  great  extent.  Dr.  Noyons  and 
his  colleagues  tried  to  give  the  poor  fellows  as  much 
relief  as  possible,  but  as  a  matter  of  course  they 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     209 

could  not  do  very  much  during  a  short  stay  at  a 
station. 

The  general  condition  of  the  town  was  not  calmer 
during  these  last  days.  New  hostages  were  taken 
continually,  and  generally,  as  before,  they  were 
clerics,  in  consequence  of  which  the  religious  services 
were  in  a  continual  muddle,  and  sometimes  on  Sun- 
days no  Holy  Mass  could  be  said.  Burgomaster 
Nerinx  had  now  posted  proclamations  in  which  he 
called  for  volunteers  to  serve  as  temporary  hostages, 
instead  of  the  priests,  during  the  hours  of  religious 
service.  As  if  it  were  office  work  they  mentioned: 
"The  service  begins  in  the  afternoon  at  ...  o'clock 
and  will  end  after  .  .  .  days  at  ...  o'clock." 

It  was  self-evident  that  very  few  were  keen  to 
offer  themselves  as  temporary  substitutes  for  the 
clerics. 

I  have,  happily,  not  seen  much  of  the  distressing 
flight  of  the  Antwerp  population,  as  I  happened 
to  be  at  Liege  when  the  fortress  fell  into  German 
hands.  I  went  to  Zundert  via  Maastricht  and  Breda, 
in  order  to  go  to  the  conquered  fortress  from 
that  Netherland  frontier-town,  north-east  of  Ant- 
werp. 

A  good  many  refugees  were  on  their  way  to  The 
Netherlands,  but  the  bulk  of  the  crowd  had  passed 
before  my  visit  along  the  long  road  which  I  walked 
now  in  the  opposite  direction.  I  did  not  arrive  in 
Antwerp  before  nightfall  and  was  then  very  tired. 
The  town  was  dark,  dismal,  and  deserted,  and  only 
German  soldiers  went  about  in  the  streets,  appar- 
ently looking  in  vain  for  a  shop  or  cafe  where  they 
might  find  some  diversion.  I  myself,  exhausted  by 


210     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

a  walk  of  twenty-five  miles,  sauntered  along,  con- 
stantly looking  for  some  place  or  other  to  pass  the 
night.  Not  a  shop  or  hotel  was  open,  and  yet  my 
stomach  was  craving  for  food,  my  body  for  rest. 
At  last  I  met  a  policeman  and  told  him  of  my 
difficulty. 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  answered,  "that  will  be  difficult 
enough.  Everybody  has  fled,  even  my  own  wife 
and  children.  I  remained  because  I  thought  it  was 
my  duty,  and  now  I  have  been  tramping  through 
the  streets  already  for  over  twenty-four  hours,  with- 
out being  relieved.  It  seems  that  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  my  colleagues  fled  also." 

"Don't  you  think  you  could  find  me  some  hotel, 
or  private  people  who  might  put  me  up  ?" 

"I  am  very  much  afraid  I  shan't  be  able,  but 
come  along,  and  we'll  try  together." 

So  we  went  from  street  to  street,  without  any 
result.  He  rang  the  bell  at  many  houses  where  he 
knew  that  acquaintances  lived,  but  always  in  vain, 
and  at  last  the  kind  man  had  to  give  it  up. 

I  went  on  by  myself,  and  arrived  at  last  in  a  street 
where  I  noticed  a  light  in  a  house.  When  I  came 
near,  I  stood  opposite  a  small  cafe,  with  "Lodgings" 
over  the  door.  I  was  hardly  able  to  go  on,  and  did 
not  care  whether  it  was  "lodgings"  or  "hotel,"  if 
I  could  only  get  in  somewhere. 

But  I  did  not  stop  long,  for  after  a  good  look 
round  it  seemed  the  best  to  try  and  get  away  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  in  that  I  succeeded.  One 
understands,  however,  that  it  was  a  terrific  disap- 
pointment for  a  man  so  tired  to  leave  again  after 
thinking  that  he  had  at  last  found  a  place  for 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP 

rest.  At  length  I  found  an  hotel  near  the  Central 
Station. 

Antwerp  had  suffered  from  the  horror  of  war. 
The  bombardment  had  destroyed  many  beautiful 
quarters  almost  entirely,  and  even  damaged  badly 
a  number  of  hospitals.  Of  course  the  loss  of  many 
lives  had  to  be  deplored. 

The  next  day  I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  interview 
with  Cardinal  Mercier,  whose  residence  in  Antwerp 
I  had  been  able  to  find  out  at  last.  A  wealthy  lady 
had  offered  his  Eminence  her  grand  house.  In  one 
of  the  rooms  I  waited  for  the  arrival  of  the  cardinal, 
the  Metropolitan  of  the  Belgian  Church  Provinces, 
who,  both  as  a  prelate  and  a  patriot,  had  been 
tried  so  sorely  in  this  war,  which  ravaged  both  his 
university  town  and  his  episcopal  town.  Although 
he  was  exceedingly  busy,  his  Eminence  had  the  kind- 
ness to  grant  me  an  audience. 

As  I  was  still  musing  about  the  tragedy  of  this 
venerable  personality  in  these  hard  days  of  war,  the 
door  was  opened  suddenly  and  his  spare  figure  stood 
before  me.  It  was  a  moment  full  of  emotion,  and 
perhaps  I  might  not  have  recovered  myself  so 
quickly  if  the  kind  prelate  had  not  met  me  with  so 
much  kindness. 

After  his  Eminence  had  allowed  me  to  kiss  his 
ring,  he  asked  me  to  sit  down.  I  had  now  a  good 
opportunity  to  notice  how  grief  dwelt  on  his 
entirely  spiritualised  face,  in  its  frame  of  white  hair. 
But  his  extraordinary  kindness  in  intercourse  did 
not  leave  him  for  one  moment. 

In  connection  with  the  summons,  which  had  been 
sent  in  the  name  of  the  archdiocese  to  De  Tijd,  and 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

had  been  proclaimed  in  all  the  churches  of  Antwerp 
in  the  morning,  his  Eminence  insisted  that  it  should 
be  printed  in  its  entirety,  as  very  many  priests  had 
taken  refuge  in  The  Netherlands,  whose  help  was 
pressingly  wanted  in  the  arch-diocese  in  many  of  the 
parishes. 

And  he  went  on  to  say  that  he  desired  especially, 
most  fervently  the  return  of  the  fled  population. 

"Really,  in  all  sincerity,"  he  said,  "no  danger 
need  be  feared.  I  should  be  very  grateful  if  the 
newspapers  in  The  Netherlands  would  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  following  promises  which  the  German 
authorities  gave  me,  and  authorised  me  to  make  in 
their  name : — 

"i.  The  young  men  need  not  fear  that  they  will 
be  taken  to  Germany  in  order  to  serve  in  the  German 
army,  or  be  compelled  to  do  any  work. 

"2.  Should  the  police  regulations  be  infringed 
anywhere  by  some  individuals,  the  authorities  will 
find  the  guilty  parties  and  punish  them,  without 
attributing  the  guilt  to  the  entire  population. 

"3.  The  German  and  Belgian  authorities  will  do 
everything  in  their  power  to  prevent  scarcity  of 
food." 

"Your  Eminence  may  permit  me  to  remark  that 
the  second  clause  especially  is  very  important  and 
much  more  comforting  than  a  previous  declaration 
of  the  Imperial  Governor,  that  owing  to  occasional 
mistakes  he  cannot  prevent  the  innocent  population 
from  having  to  suffer  with  those  who  are  guilty. 
May  I  ask,  has  this  favourable  result  been  obtained 
by  your  personal  intervention?" 

"That  is  to  say  .  .  .  yes.    I  have  suggested  these 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP 

measures  and  they  have  been  consented  to.  I  hope 
that  they  may  induce  all  the  refugees  in  The  Nether- 
lands to  return  at  once.  A  press  bureau  in  your 
country  has  circulated  the  report  that  I  too  had 
planned  to  fly.  There  was  no  truth  in  it  at  all. 
It  was  my  duty  not  to  leave  my  people,  is  not  that 
so?  The  shepherd  must  stay  with  his  sheep,  the 
vicars  must  do  the  same,  and  those  who  went  away 
must  therefore  come  back." 

"Your  Eminence  visited  Malines  last  Tuesday, 
I  have  been  told.  I  may  perhaps  ask  how  you 
found  the  condition  of  the  cathedral  and  the 
town?" 

The  cardinal's  face  was  overclouded  suddenly,  and 
quietly  he  answered : 

"Pardon  me,  it  is  perhaps  better  not  to  say  a 
word  about  that  for  the  moment.  We  are  living 
through  difficult  times." 

I  understood  and  respected  the  restraint  of  the 
Belgian  primate,  who  went  on  then : 

"Tuesday  of  next  week  I  hope  to  be  at  Malines 
again,  and  on  the  2Oth  of  this  month  the  adminis- 
trative service  of  the  archdiocese  will  be  rein- 
stalled." 

"Then  you  will  stay  again  at  the  episcopal  palace, 
your  Eminence?" 

"Yes,  certainly.  It  will  take  time  of  course,  but 
the  damage  done  to  the  St.  Rombout  church  and  the 
palace  is  not  irreparable;  the  church  has  suffered 
very  much,  the  spire  is  less  damaged." 

"Much  will  be  needed  to  repair  what  has  been 
damaged  in  this  unfortunate  country." 

"Yes,  yes.     An  immense  amount  will  be  neces- 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

sary.  We  are  about  to  form  committees;  but  so 
much  is  needed.  In  England  they  are  also  forming 
committees,  and  I  have  received  money  already 
from  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  The 
Netherlands.  .  .  ." 

For  a  moment  he  gave  way  to  emotion.  He  hesi- 
tated for  a  few  seconds,  and  I  saw  tears  in  his  eyes. 
He  then  went  on  with  a  trembling  voice : 

"The  Netherlands  is  a  generous  country.  How 
grateful,  how  immensely  grateful  am  I  to  the 
Netherland  people  for  what  they  have  done  for  poor 
refugees.  I  cannot  sufficiently  express  my  gratitude. 
I  have  received  reports  from  priests  who  came  back, 
and  I  am  deeply  moved  by  them.  They  told  me 
how  at  Roosendaal  the  Netherland  soldiers  gave 
all  their  bread  to  the  refugees,  knowing  well  that 
for  some  time  they  themselves  would  not  get  any 
other.  No!  I  can  never  be  sufficiently  grateful 
for  such  sacrifices.  And  Catholics  and  non-Catholics 
all  joined  in  it.  That  is  beautiful,  very,  very  beau- 
tiful." 

"Your  Eminence,  what  The  Netherlands  did  for 
the  poor  Belgians  came  from  the  heart  of  the  people, 
and  I  know  for  certain  that  the  Catholics  will  be 
eager  to  contribute  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  destroyed 
churches  and  houses." 

"The  Netherlands  has  done  already  so  much, 
but  if  it  would  come  to  the  assistance  of  our  un- 
fortunate people  also  in  this  way  it  would  greatly 
gladden  the  archiepiscopal  government,  who  will  be 
only  too  happy  to  accept  gifts  in  these  difficult 
times;  and  perhaps  the  Right  Reverend  Netherland 
bishops  may  be  willing  to  send  the  gifts  for  this  pur- 


DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  ANTWERP     215 

pose  to  us.  We  might  then  distribute  those  gifts 
among  the  parishes  in  the  country  which  have  suf- 
fered most.'* 

"Well,  in  any  case,  your  Eminence,  I  promise  to 
bring  it  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Catholics  in  The 
Netherlands,  and  you  may  rely  upon  their  readiness. 
But  now  I  will  not  take  more  of  your  valuable  time, 
which  you  give  so  zealously  to  the  poor  and  the 
unfortunate.  I  thank  you  very  much  for  having 
granted  me  this  audience." 

"It  was  in  the  interests  of  our  suffering  country, 
and  we  are  those  who  ought  to  be  grateful.  May 
I  insist  once  more  that  you  ask  our  refugees  to  come 
back  to  Antwerp  and  don't  omit  to  state  the  three 
favourable  regulations.  .  .  ." 

His  Eminence  then  got  up,  kindly  offered  me  his 
hand,  the  ring  on  which  I  kissed,  and  escorted  me 
to  the  door  in  the  amiable,  simple  way  of  which  I 
shall  retain  the  memory  for  ever. 

I  can  see  now  once  more  how  little  Germans  care 
about  the  given  word.  They  asked  and  obtained 
from  Cardinal  Mercier  his  co-operation  to  incite  the 
population  to  return,  but  the  cardinal,  always  anxious 
to  safeguard  his  compatriots,  made  conditions  to 
which  they  consented. 

The  first  of  them  was  that  no  young  man  should 
be  taken  to  Germany,  or  compelled  to  work.  Now 
how  many  lads  are  not  already  in  Germany,  how 
many  have  not  been  compelled,  especially  in  both 
the  Flanders,  to  do  work  for  the  Germans?  And 
were  not  loyal  people  who  refused  to  do  it  im- 
prisoned? Yes !  Did  not  these  violators  of  law  and 
right  proclaim  that  all  appeal  to  international  agree- 


216     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

ments  would  be  useless?  "We  shall  no  longer  pun- 
ish a  whole  population  for  the  deeds  of  individuals," 
they  also  promised  Cardinal  Mercier.  But  many 
communities  have  had  fines  and  taxes  imposed  upon 
them  in  consequence  of  the  offence  of  one  individual. 

And  although  they  also  promised  to  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  prevent  lack  of  food  in 
Belgium,  they  have  bled  to  death  the  unfortunate 
country  by  continuous  impositions  and  taxes,  and 
thrown  many  into  poverty  and  misery. 

Yes,  in  the  most  scandalous  manner  they  have 
violated  the  promises  which  the  Germans  gave  Car- 
dinal Mercier.  But  what  signifies  a  word  if  treaties 
are  only  "scraps  of  paper?" 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  ILL-TREATMENT  OF  BRITISH 
WOUNDED 

I  RETURNED  from  Louvain  by  military  train.  This 
one  had  had  a  most  adventurous  journey  before  it 
reached  Louvain.  It  had  left  Cambrai  in  North 
France  three  days  before,  always  going  slowly  and 
making  long  stops,  to  spare  the  seriously  wounded 
at  least  a  little.  I  estimated  that  in  my  train  over 
2,000  wounded  had  been  loaded  in  a  long,  dismal 
procession  of  wagons.  Most  of  them  had  not  had 
their  bandages  renewed  for  a  fortnight,  and  were 
still  wearing  the  first  emergency  dressing;  all  came 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Arras. 

A  little  to  the  north  of  this  town  many  had  been 
lying  wounded  in  the  trenches  for  over  eight  days, 
without  being  able  to  get  their  wounds  bandaged. 
They  had  to  admit  the  success  of  the  French  field 
artillery,  which  produced  a  most  serious  effect. 

The  Germans  all  agreed  that  their  right  wing 
lacked  artillery.  The  German  soldiers  who  fell 
there  were  all  killed  in  their  trenches  by  the  falling 
bombs,  there  was  not  sufficient  field  artillery  to  an- 
swer this  murderous  fire  efficiently,  and  they  could 
not  do  anything  with  their  rifles  against  the  invisible 

217 


218     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

enemy.  The  artillery  fire  of  the  French  was  most 
serious  from  the  ist  to  the  4th  of  October,  and 
during  those  days  the  German  trenches  must  have 
been  a  real  hell.  On  October  4th  a  general  "sauve 
qui  peut"  began  from  the  trenches. 

But  the  shell-fire  of  the  French  overtook  them 
then,  as  they  were  retreating,  while  many  others 
were  killed  by  bombs  from  French  aeroplanes,  which 
were  in  action  in  great  numbers.  The  retreat  had 
not  stopped  before  the  Germans  arrived  in  Cam- 
bray,  where  the  thousands  of  wounded  could  at  last 
be  put  in  long  trains  and  sent  to  Aix-la-Chapelle.  A 
great  many  bombs  from  aeroplanes  also  hit  these 
trains  and  killed  a  great  many;  my  own  train  was 
everywhere  pierced  by  fragments  of  those  bombs. 
Within  the  carriages  it  was  unendurable;  the 
wounded  men  and  their  malodorous  bandages  had 
occupied  them  such  a  long  time  that  the  atmosphere 
was  simply  insupportable.  Happily  there  was  a 
corridor,  where  I  stood  all  the  time,  with  the  little 
girl,  in  the  company  of  some  German  military  men 
who  were  sent  home,  not  on  account  of  wounds,  but 
because  of  internal  complaints. 

Very  slowly  the  huge  monster  sauntered  along, 
stopping  and  waiting  everywhere  to  allow  long  trains 
with  fresh  troops  to  pass.  These  came  straight  from 
Germany,  with  the  youngest  levies  and  volunteers 
who  had  just  finished  their  drill.  These  had  deco- 
rated their  trains  all  over  with  green  boughs  and 
outside  painted  all  sorts  of  caricatures,  from  which 
especially  King  George  had  to  suffer  much.  Then 
one  read  uTo  Paris,  to  England/'  and  similar  hope- 
ful devices. 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED        219 

When  their  train  approached  ours  they  looked 
out  of  the  windows,  or  opened  the  doors,  and  waved 
and  greeted  and  shouted  at  the  top  of  their  voices. 

But  as  soon  as  these  "tender-foots"  came  along- 
side our  train  and  were  not  met  with  the  same  im- 
petuous enthusiasm  as  they  displayed  themselves, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  saw  sick,  discouraged,  exhausted 
faces  gazing  at  them  distressedly,  their  boisterous- 
ness  suddenly  extinguished,  and  a  nervous,  terrified 
expression  pursed  up  their  mouths.  And  the  trains 
were  already  at  some  distance  from  each  other  be- 
fore the  young  soldiers  remembered  that  they  ought 
to  shout  and  to  wave  to  those  who  had  already  done 
so  much  for  the  Fatherland. 

We  arrived  at  Landen,  a  place  between  Tirlemont 
and  Waremme,  where  we  had  a  stop  of  forty  min- 
utes, in  order  to  feed  the  wounded.  Soup  was  served 
from  large  washing-tubs,  and  I  and  my  small  com- 
panion were  also  offered  some  of  this  soldiers'  food. 
When  I  had  finished  my  meal,  and  walked  up  and 
down  the  platform  in  order  to  stretch  my  legs,  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  an  uproar  in  front  of  one 
of  the  last  wagons.  I  went  there,  and  shall  not  for- 
get what  I  saw  as  long  as  I  live;  I  wish  that  I  had 
never  seen  it. 

Amongst  some  Frenchmen,  three  British  soldiers, 
seriously  wounded,  were  lying  on  some  straw.  They 
looked  distressed,  and  I  thought  that  their  condition 
was  critical.  I  was  told  that  these  men  had  not 
had  any  food  for  five  days,  and  now  there  stood  in 
front  of  the  open  wagon  doors  two  to  three  hundred 
German  soldiers,  partly  slightly  wounded,  who  were 
well  able  to  walk,  partly  German  soldiers  of  the 


220     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

Landen  garrison,  who  had  been  told  off  for  distribut- 
ing the  soup.  These  two  to  three  hundred  men  raged 
and  jeered  at  those  three  unfortunate,  heavily 
wounded  British  soldiers,  who  had  not  eaten  for 
five  days,  and  lay  groaning  helplessly  on  some  dirty 
straw  in  a  cattle-truck.  The  steaming  tubs  with 
hot  soup  were  shown  them,  and  these  Germans 
shouted  at  them:  "You  want  to  eat,  swine,  swine; 
you  ought  to  be  killed !  Beat  them  to  death ! — beat 
them  to  death!  Here,  that's  what  you  ought  to 
get!" 

As  they  spoke  these  last  words  they  aimed  their 
rifles  at  the  unfortunate,  bleeding,  helpless,  and 
hungry  creatures.  Others  spat  on  their  clothes  and 
in  their  faces,  and  the  enraged  Germans  foamed  at 
the  mouth. 

With  weak  eyes,  eyes  telling  of  approaching  death, 
one  of  them  gazed  at  these  cruel  torturers,  or  looked 
hungrily  at  the  steaming  soup;  the  two  others  had 
turned  their  heads  on  one  side  and  closed  their  eyes. 
But  at  last  also  the  third  turned  off  his  head  and 
closed  his  eyes,  sighing  and  groaning.  In  the 
meantime  the  Germans  went  on  threatening  them, 
blurting  out  all  sorts  of  filthy  abuse,  spitting  or 
threatening  them  with  their  rifles,  while  others  were 
laughing  and  enjoying  the  helplessness  of  those 
three. 

I  stood  still,  dumb,  aghast,  unable  to  utter  a  word. 
Then  I  went  to  a  sergeant  who  was  also  looking  on 
and  laughing;  and,  trembling  all  over,  I  said: 

"What  is  happening  here  is  frightful;  those  men 
are  also  human  beings,  who  had  to  do  their  duty  as 
much  as  you!" 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

I  couldn't  say  more,  my  voice  stuck  in  my  throat. 

And  what  was  his  answer? 

"What?  Do  their  duty?  No,  they  are  swine — 
paid  swine;  they  get  money  for  their  dirty  workT 
the  swine!" 

I  did  not  answer.  I  could  not.  Silently  I  looked 
a  little  longer  at  the  beastly  scene,  only  sorry  that 
I  was  not  a  giant  who,  with  one  strong  hand,  might 
restrain  the  roughs,  and  refresh  with  the  other  the 
burning,  feverish  lips  of  the  wretched  men. 

What  distressed  me  most  was  that  among  those 
two  to  three  hundred  soldiers  in  front  of  that  open 
cattle-truck  was  not  one  man  who  wanted  to  take 
the  part  of  these  unfortunate  British;  no,  not  one! 

When  I  reported  the  occurrence  in  De  Tijd,  I  was 
fully  conscious  of  the  frightful  accusation  implied 
by  my  information;  but  I  am  prepared  to  confirm 
with  the  most  sacred  oaths  that  nothing  in  this  accu- 
sation is  untrue  or  exaggerated. 

I  was  not  afraid  of  an  inquiry,  but  asked  for  it 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  by  writing  in  my  report : — 

"And  if  the  German  authorities  intend  to  institute 
a  serious  and  impartial  inquiry,  then  I  give  them  the 
following  particulars: 

"It  happened  at  Landen  on  Friday,  October  9th, 
in  the  train  with  wounded  which  arrived  there  from 
Brussels  at  about  noon,  when  food  was  being  dis- 
tributed." 

The  German  authorities  have  indeed  made  in- 
quiries about  the  matter;  I  shall  deal  with  that  in 
the  next  chapter. 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

What  happened  at  Landen  made  a  very  deep 
impression  upon  me;  it  shocked  me  more  than  all 
the  terrible  things  which  I  had  seen  during  the 
war  and  all  the  dangers  which  I  went  through. 
When  the  train  went  on  again,  and  the  soldiers 
began  to  speak  to  me  once  more,  I  was  unable  to 
utter  a  word  and  sat  there  musing. 

Before  I  witnessed  this  terrible  event  at  Landen 
some  Germans  in  the  train  had  already  told  me 
that  they  simply  killed  the  British  whom  they  made 
prisoners.  Others  assured  me  that  such  a  thing 
did  not  happen  in  their  division,  but  one  asserted 
that  by  his  company  alone  already  twenty-six  had 
been  killed.  I  did  not  believe  them  then,  and 
thought  that  they  were  better  than  they  made  them- 
selves out,  but  after  having  witnessed  that  scene  at 
Landen  .  .  .  ! 

One  hour  before  the  arrival  at  Liege  the  engine 
of  our  train  dashed  into  another,  and  got  so  badly 
damaged  that  all  the  water  from  our  engine  ran 
away.  This  caused  a  delay  of  another  two  hours, 
so  that  we  did  not  arrive  at  Liege  before  dusk,  and 
could  not  think  of  reaching  The  Netherlands  that 
day. 

I  took  the  little  Amsterdam  girl  to  my  niece  in 
the  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  went  to 
an  hotel  myself.  A  German  newspaper,  bought  at 
a  bookstall,  gave  in  gigantic  type  the  information 
that  Antwerp  might  fall  at  any  moment,  and  a  re- 
cently posted  bulletin  brought  the  feared-for  news. 
But  the  people  of  Liege  could  not,  and  would  not 
believe  it. 

I  had  expected  it  and  believed  the  reports,  but  it 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

hurt  all  the  same.  I  had  had  intercourse  with  Ger- 
man soldiers  almost  exclusively;  but  that  gave  me 
a  much  better  opportunity  for  observing  their  con- 
duct, which  roused  in  me  a  deep  sympathy  for  the 
poor,  oppressed  Belgian  people.  That  was  why  I 
was  so  sorry  to  hear  of  the  fall  of  Antwerp,  although 
I  was  not  discouraged.  Right  would  triumph,  and 
the  day  come  when  the  Belgian  nation  would  shake 
off  the  foreign  yoke  of  tyranny,  and  repair  in  peace 
and  prosperity,  under  the  sagacious  rule  of  their 
king,  what  barbarians  destroyed  and  pulled  down. 

The  next  day  I  got  to  The  Netherlands  with  my 
small  protegee,  after  a  tiring  walk  from  Herstal  to 
Eysden,  where  we  could  take  the  train  to  Maastricht. 
Here  the  father  of  the  little  girl  came  to  meet  his 
daughter,  and  took  her  to  Amsterdam,  to  her 
"Mummy,"  of  whom  she  had  been  speaking  during 
the  whole  journey  with  so  much  longing. 

Only  now  did  I  hear  what  had  happened  to  the 
village  of  Lanaeken  after  I  had  seen  the  German 
preparations  in  Tongres  for  action  against  the  little 
Belgian  army  that  was  still  about  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  country.  The  greater  part  of 
Lanaeken  had  been  destroyed  by  shelling,  and  of 
course  a  great  many  innocent  victims  had  fallen  in 
consequence. 

By  destroying  the  life  and  possessions  of  peaceful 
civilians  the  Germans — who  always  boast  so  much 
about  their  military  honour — gave  unconscious  ex- 
pression to  their  awe  of  the  fearless  heroes  who  still 
stood  their  ground  to  the  north  of  Liege,  whilst  the 
Germans  were  still  besieging  Antwerp. 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

I  have  mentioned  already  that  the  German  authori- 
ties had  ordered  a  so-called  inquiry  about  what  hap- 
pened at  Landen.  As  the  result  of  this  inquiry  the 
press  of  all  neutral  countries  had  the  following  two 
official  communications  wired  to  them : — 

"Berlin,  November  loth.  (E.  B.). — A  corre- 
spondent of  De  Tijd  in  Amsterdam  has  told  a  num- 
ber of  details  about  the  so-called  bad  treatment  of 
British  wounded  at  the  station  of  Landen,  according 
to  which  the  British  had  been  left  without  food  or 
drink,  had  been  spit  in  their  faces,  and  our  soldiers 
were  alleged  to  have  aimed  their  rifles  at  them.  The 
German  Government  had  instituted  a  thorough  in- 
quiry into  this  matter  and  publish  the  result:  'The 
entire  allegation  of  the  correspondent  is  untrue. 
None  of  the  details  is  covered  by  the  facts.  The 
British  have  not  been  beaten  nor  pushed  nor  spit  at, 
but  on  the  contrary  warm  food  was  offered  them, 
which  was  accepted  by  all  except  two.  Store-inspec- 
tor Huebner  and  the  landwehr-soldier  Krueger  have 
testified  to  this." 

"Berlin,  November  loth.  (W.  B.)^ Official.— The 
Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung  writes :  'The  daily 
newspaper,  De  Tijd,  issued  at  Amsterdam,  published 
on  October  i6th  a  report  from  a  war  correspondent 
at  Maastricht,  in  which  he  asserted  that  on  October 
9th  a  train  in  which  more  than  two  thousand 
wounded  were  transported,  arrived  at  the  station 
at  Landen  in  Belgium  between  Tirlemont  and 
Waremme.  Here  it  was  said  that  a  stop  had  taken 
place  of  forty  minutes  in  which  to  provide  the 
wounded  with  food.  Walking  up  and  down  the  plat- 
form the  reporter  pretends  to  have  seen  two  to  three 
hundred  German  soldiers,  slightly  wounded  men  and 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

men  of  the  garrison  of  Landen,  furiously  abuse  three 
seriously  wounded  British,  who  were  lying  in  one  of 
the  last  carriages  of  the  train.  They  showed  mugs 
full  of  steaming  soup  to  the  hungry  British,  whom 
they  left  lying  there  miserable  from  starvation.  They 
were  also  said  to  have  aimed  their  rifles  at  them, 
laughing  roughly,  and  to  have  spit  on  them. 

"  'These  allegations  of  the  reporter  of  De  Tijd 
caused  the  authorities  to  institute  inquiries,  and  the 
following  is  now  stated  with  regard  to  the  alleged 
events : 

*  (On  October  9th  no  train  with  two  thousand 
wounded  arrived  at  the  station  of  Landen,  but  only 
small  transports  whose  number  can  be  checked  ac- 
curately by  the  lists  of  wounded.  Rioting  by  two 
to  three  hundred  soldiers  near  a  carriage  could  not 
take  place,  as  the  station  guard  was  instructed  to 
keep  free  a  path  along  the  train.  There  is,  more- 
over, always  an  officer  of  the  station-guard  present, 
when  a  train  with  wounded  leaves.  It  is  impossible 
that  the  soldiers  could  have  aimed  their  rifles  at  the 
British,  as  the  men  who  get  their  food  in  the  dining- 
hall,  as  also  the  serving  military  personnel,  are  al- 
ways unarmed.  Other  soldiers  are  not  admitted  to 
the  station.  The  British  have  neither  been  beaten, 
nor  stabbed,  nor  spit  at;  on  the  contrary  plates  full 
of  hot  soup  have  been  offered  them  which  were  re- 
fused by  two  of  them.  This  has  been  confirmed  by 
the  declarations  of  people  who  were  present.' ' 

Of  course  I  did  not  withhold  my  answer,  pilloried 
the  hardly  serious  inquiry  of  the  Germans,  and  pub- 
lished immediately  an  extensive  contradiction  in  De 
Tijd.  I  quote  the  following  from  it : — 


226     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

"Only  about  a  month  after  the  publication  of  my 
story  about  what  happened  at  Landen,  the  German 
Government  and  military  authorities  considered  that 
the  time  had  come  to  contradict  it,  after  ordering  an 
inquiry  which  in  reality  cannot  be  called  an  inquiry 
at  all.  From  their  communiques  it  is  clear  that  some 
soldiers  were  heard  who  probably  were  privy  to  the 
act,  and  in  any  case  benefited  by  a  denial  of  the  vil- 
lainy committed  at  Landen.  That  is  to  say,  men  who 
were  counsel  in  their  own  cause,  and  who  were  be- 
lieved the  sooner  because  their  declarations  were  de- 
sirable for  the  support  of  German  credit.  But  it 
does  not  appear  from  these  communiques  that  the 
German  authorities  also  examined  the  wounded  who 
were  present,  nor  the  two  Netherlanders  who  trav- 
elled by  that  train:  the  young  Miss  de  Bruin,  from 
Amsterdam,  and  the  present  writer,  as  also  the  civil- 
ian witnesses  at  Landen.  In  opposition  to  the  evi- 
dence of  Stores-inspector  Huebner  and  the  landwehr- 
soldier  Krueger,  of  which  evidence  it  has  not  been 
stated  that  they  gave  it  on  oath,  I  declare  myself  pre- 
pared and  willing,  if  a  complete  and  impartial  in- 
quiry be  instituted,  to  declare  upon  oath  either  to  a 
properly  qualified  committee  in  The  Netherlands  or 
in  Germany,  or  to  a  thereto-appointed  arbiter,  the 
following: 

"  *i.  On  Friday,  the  ninth  of  October,  at  noon,  I 
stopped  at  Landen  about  forty  minutes  after  arriv- 
ing from  Louvain  in  a  terribly  long  train  of  passen- 
ger carriages  and  goods  vans,  with  approximately 
two  thousand  wounded.  (This  estimate  may  be 
wrong  to  the  extent  of  a  couple  of  hundred,  but  that 
does  not  matter.)  During  this  time  the  wounded 
were  fed. 

"  'I  saw  how  two  to  three  hundred  German  sol- 
diers, part  of  them  slightly  wounded,  who  were  well 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

able  to  walk,  partly  soldiers  of  the  Landen  garri- 
son, who  crowded  about  the  open  doors  of  one  of 
the  last  wagons,  raging  and  jeering  against  three 
seriously  wounded  British  soldiers,  about  whom  their 
French  fellow-passengers  told  me  that  they  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  for  five  days.  The  wounded  were 
called  "swine,"  were  spit  at,  and  some  rifles  were 
aimed  at  them.  When  I  told  a  sergeant  that  it  was 
a  disgusting  scene,  he  answered :  "These  British 
swine,  they  get  paid  for  their  filthy  work."  He  al- 
luded to  the  pay  which  the  British  volunteers  re- 
ceive because  they  enlist  as  mercenaries,  Britain  hav- 
ing no  compulsory  general  military  service.  Before 
I  witnessed  this  awful  thing  at  Landen,  Germans  in 
the  train  had  already  told  me  that  they  simply  killed 
any  British  whom  they  made  prisoners.  Others  said 
that  such  a  thing  did  not  happen  in  their  division, 
but  one  man  contended  that  by  his  company  already 
twenty-six  had  been  killed.  I  did  not  believe  them, 
and  thought  that  they  were  better  than  they  pre- 
tended to  be. 

*  '2.  The  soup  had  been  offered  to  the  British, 
but  two  refused  to  take  it,  says  the  German  Govern- 
ment. Yes,  it  was  offered  these  wretched  people, 
but,  as  I  have  said  already,  the  German  soldiers  kept 
the  steaming  soup  before  them,  shouting  at  them: 
"You  want  to  eat,  you  swine ! — you  swine !  you  ought 
to  be  killed!  This  is  what  you  may  have!"  And 
as  they  said  the  latter  they  aimed  their  rifles  at  the 
unfortunate  men,  whilst  others  who  were  not  armed 
lifted  up  their  fists  and  threatened  them,  or  spat  at 
them. 

1  'In  my  report  about  the  occurrence  I  had  not 
even  exposed  in  all  its  harshness  the  treatment  dealt 
out  to  the  French  soldiers.  For  they  too  were  not 
offered  plates  of  soup,  but  only  the  mugs  were  filled, 


228     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

forming  part  of  their  equipment.  And  there  were 
many  who  put  out  these  mugs  as  if  supplicating  to 
have  them  filled  once  more ;  as  that  was  not  done  they 
constantly  put  the  empty  mug  to  their  mouth  to  try 
and  lick  off  any  remaining  drops  that  might  have 
stuck  to  its  side.  Some  Germans  said:  "Yes,  the 
French  may  have  something,  for  they  are  soldiers, 
but  those  three  there,  well,  they  are  paid  swine. " 

*  '3.  I  published  the  facts  and  insisted  upon  an 
impartial  inquiry,  in  order  to  prevent,  if  possible, 
that  only  guilty  soldiers  should  be  heard  should  a 
complaint  about  the  occurrence  be  lodged  with  the 
highest  military  authority. 

"  'Instead  of  facing  such  an  impartial  inquiry  with 
an  examination  of  all  available  witnesses  and  pun- 
ishment of  the  guilty,  the  German  government  finds 
the  courage  only  to  call  me,  a  month  after  the  event, 
"a  liar,"  and  the  whole  story  a  fairy-tale ! 

1  'If  the  German  government  had  come  somewhat 
earlier  with  their  contradiction,  it  might  have  been 
possible  to  cite  another  witness,  for — I  have  not  re- 
ported that  at  first — among  those  who  were  present 
there  was  a  civilian,  an  inhabitant  of  Landen,  who 
also  looked  with  anger  at  the  cruel  scene,  and  ex- 
pressed his  indignation  when  he  could  no  longer  re- 
strain himself.  But  then  there  was  a  general  out-, 
cry  of: 

"  '  "What  is  this  civilian  doing  here?"  The  young 
man  could  not  explain  his  presence  satisfactorily,  and 
a  couple  of  soldiers  got  hold  of  him,  and,  in  the 
literal  sense  of  the  word,  threw  him  away.  When 
he  waited  at  a  short  distance  a  little  longer,  with  an 
angry  face,  one  of  the  soldiers  ran  at  him,  threaten- 
ing him  with  his  bayonet.  I  might  have  been  able 
to  find  that  young  man  at  the  time,  but  now,  a  month 
later,  this  will  be  much  more  difficult.  There  was 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

also  another  group  of  civilians  packed  as  densely  as 
herrings  in  a  cattle-truck  on  another  line ;  they  must 
have  seen  the  beastly  occurrence  as  well. 

"  'I  might  quote  another  small  detail.  Before  the 
train  arrived  at  Landen  I  had  had  a  very  pleasant 
chat  in  the  corridor  with  a  German  soldier,  who 
seemed  tolerably  humane  and  civilised,  even  in  his 
talk.  After  the  departure  from  Landen  I  again  got 
into  conversation  with  him,  and  did  not  fail  to  ex- 
press my  indignation;  and  then  he  gave  me  the  fol- 
lowing reply:  "Oh  well,  one  must  think  of  the  posi- 
tion of  our  soldiers,  who  have  been  for  days  in  the 
trenches  under  the  murderous  fire  of  the  enemy. 
Later  on  they  will  themselves  repent  for  what  has 
happened."  Perhaps  the  German  government  may 
be  able  to  discover  who  that  soldier  is,  if  I  add  that 
he  went  home  for  good  because  he  was  suffering  from 
heart-disease. 

"  'And  then  there  is  something  else.  The  brakes- 
man of  the  wagon  in  which  I  travelled  was  a  man 
who  had  enlisted  only  a  couple  of  weeks  ago  as  a 
volunteer  for  the  service  on  the  railways,  and,  if  I 
remember  correctly,  hailed  from  Hamburg.  He  be- 
longed to  a  Trades  Union  which  had  already  once 
made  a  trip  to  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam,  and  was 
for  instance  able  to  tell  me  that  Krasnapolsky  at 
Amsterdam  was  a  large  hotel.  I  also  spoke  to  that 
man  about  what  had  happened,  because  I  thought  I 
had  noticed  that  he  was  more  human,  but  he  too 
gave  me  the  cynical  answer:  uOh  well,  the  French 
may  have  something  to  eat,  they  fight  also  for  their 
country,  but  not  those  British,  they  only  fight  because 
that  is  their  profession." 

'  '4.  With  regard  to  the  arms  of  the  German  sol- 
diers, it  is  true  that  the  wounded  men  had  none  with 
them,  but  I  have  distinctly  stated  that  the  crowd  con- 


230     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

sisted  of  soldiers  who  belonged  to  the  lightly 
wounded  and  of  soldiers  belonging  to  the  Landen 
garrison.  These  latter  had  been  told  off  to  guard 
the  station  and  the  platforms  and  maintain  order. 
It  is  possible  that  they  had  also  to  prevent  the 
wounded  from  moving  about  on  the  platforms,  but 
in  that  case  they  did  not  stick  to  their  task,  because 
everybody  was  free  to  go  where  he  liked,  and  I  my- 
self did  the  same.  That  these  guards  did  not  guard 
anything  at  all  at  the  moment  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  the  above-mentioned  civilian  was  able  to  come 
near  the  riot,  although  he  had  to  pass  a  number  of 
platforms.  That  the  soldiers  belonged  to  the  Lan- 
den garrison  and  had  to  do  sentry-go  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  they  had  their  bayonets  on  their  rifles. 
*  'Finally,  the  contention  that  no  riot  could  have 
taken  place  because  the  soldiers  were  fed  in  the  din- 
ing-hall  is  entirely  incorrect.  That  dining-hall  was 
nothing  but  a  shed  entirely  open  at  the  front,  in 
which  there  were  a  few  seats.  There  the  slightly 
wounded  soldiers  were  fed  first,  and  when  they  had 
supplied  those,  food  was  taken  to  the  seriously 
wounded,  who  had  to  stop  in  the  train,  as  also  to 
myself  and  my  little  companion.  The  slightly 
wounded  and  the  soldiers  of  the  guard  walked  off 
with  the  distributors  of  the  soup  along  the  train  in 
order  to  have  a  chat  with  their  comrades  in  it.  In 
that  way  they  also  came  to  the  British  when  the 
wagon-door  had  been  opened.  It  will  be  evident 
that  I  observed  closely  and  retained  in  my  memory 
all  that  had  happened  there  and  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. 

"  '5.  My  pertinent  declarations  are  now  opposed 
by  the  German  official  contradiction;  but  how  weak 
is  the  argument !  I  have  already  pointed  out  that 
only  comrades  of  the  accused  men  have  been  heard, 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

but  not  the  accuser,  nor,  as  is  evident,  the  victims, 
nor  other  witnesses.  There  is  more :  "Crowding 
of  two  to  three  hundred  soldiers  near  a  wagon  can- 
not occur" — thus  says  the  communique — "because 
the  station-guard's  duty  is  to  keep  free  the  path  along 
the  train."  Does  anyone  understand  the  weakness 
of  this  contradiction?  It  is  as  if  one  should  say: 
"It  is  impossible  that  anything  has  been  stolen  in  a 
town  because  it  is  the  duty  of  the  police  to  guard 
it."  "Moreover  there  is  also  always  an  officer  of 
the  station-guard  present  at  the  departure  of  a  train 
of  wounded,"  the  communique  proceeds.  But  again 
I  ask:  What  does  this  prove?  It  is  a  fact  that  this 
officer,  if  he  was  present,  did  not  prevent  what  hap- 
pened. "It  is  impossible  that  the  soldiers  aimed 
their  rifles  at  the  British,  because  the  men  who  get 
their  food  in  the  dining-hall,  and  those  of  the  military 
who  distribute  it,  are  always  unarmed;  no  other 
soldiers  are  admitted  to  the  station."  I  see  that 
the  German  government  simply  quote  the  military 
regulations,  and  from  them  determine  the  facts. 
They  cannot  realise  that  it  might  be  possible  for  their 
regulations  not  to  be  obeyed  always. 

'  '6.  I  am  convinced  that  on  the  whole  the  treat- 
ment of  the  wounded  was  generous  and  exemplary. 
But  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  terrible  hatred  of  the 
Germans  against  the  British,  encouraged  by  their 
military  authorities  (one  has  to  think  of  the  procla- 
mation of  Prince  Rupert  of  Bavaria)  and  their  scan- 
dalous comic  papers,  which  disgust  even  decent  Ger- 
mans, induce  to  extravagances  such  as  I  witnessed  at 
Landen.  Did  not  a  German  officer  explain  to  an 
editor  of  the  Algemeen  Handelsolad  (evening  issue 
of  October  i8th)  :  "The  unwritten  order  is  to  make 
everywhere  as  many  French  and  as  few  English  pris- 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

oners  as  possible ;  we  don't  try  to  wound,  but  to  kill 
the  British." 

I  think  that  my  answer  left  nothing  to  be  desired 
for  plainness,  and  Germany  cannot  have  derived 
much  pleasure  from  its  official  contradiction.  More- 
over, the  editor  of  De  Tijd  had  also  made  inquiries 
from  the  little  girl  whom  I  escorted  from  Louvain 
on  the  day  of  the  occurrence  at  Landen,  and  al- 
though I  admit  at  once  that  not  too  great  a  value 
can  be  attached  to  the  evidence  of  a  girl  of  nine,  I 
insert  here  what  the  editor  wrote  about  that  inter- 
view : — 

"Our  editor  has  moreover  interviewed  young 
Miss  Antoinette  de  Bruijn  here,  whom  our  corre- 
spondent brought  from  Louvain  to  Maastricht.  In 
the  presence  of  her  mother  she  told  how  she  had  been 
in  a  train  full  of  wounded,  that  there  were  armed 
soldiers  on  the  platform,  and  that  some  wounded 
soldiers  had  been  teased  by  offering  them  steaming 
soup  which  was  not  given  to  them.  The  father  of 
this  girl,  Mr.  de  Bruijn,  also  assured  us  that  when 
he  met  his  daughter  at  Maastricht,  our  correspond- 
ent, Mr.  Mokveld,  was  still  very  much  under  the 
impression  of  what  he  had  witnessed." 

My  contradiction  became  known  in  Germany,  and 
it  was  an  eye-opener  to  a  great  many  people  there. 
The  editor  of  De  Tijd  received  many  letters  from 
that  country,  and  printed  some  of  them  with  the 
name  of  the  writer  added.  From  these  it  seems 
that  even  there  it  was  acknowledged  in  some  circles 
that  the  German  inquiry  had  been  extremely  one- 


ILL-TREATMENT  OF  WOUNDED 

sided,  and  that  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  admit 
what  had  happened  at  Landen,  and  punish  the 
culprits. 

The  only  purpose  of  my  publication  was  to  con- 
vince everybody  of  this,  and  thereby  prevent  the 
repetition  of  such  a  scandalous  scene. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
ON  THE  YSER 

FROM  the  pretty  town  of  Sluys  in  the  Netherland 
part  of  Flanders  I  made  a  good  many  trips  to  the 
Belgian  coastal  regions  and  the  Yser,  the  little  river 
that  will  always  be  named  in  history,  because  there 
came  the  end  of  the  German  advance,  and  there  the 
Belgian  army  displayed  all  its  power,  fighting  with 
the  courage  of  lions  in  defence  of  the  last  bit  of  their 
native  soil. 

Yes,  Sluys  will  always  live  in  my  memory.  How 
well  have  been  received  the  thousands  of  Belgians 
who  went  there  for  shelter  and  how  much  misery 
have  I  seen  relieved  by  the  effectual  mutual  help 
of  the  Belgians  and  that  of  the  civil  and  military 
Netherland  authorities.  The  burgomaster  in  partic- 
ular seemed  to  be  the  right  man  in  the  right  place, 
and  it  was  chiefly  due  to  his  sagacity  that  every- 
thing went  so  regularly  in  that  small  town,  which 
had  to  maintain  the  proportionately  greatest  number 
of  refugees. 

In  Sluys  I  also  got  to  know  by  friendly  intercourse 
the  character  of  the  Belgians,  so  open,  so  straight- 
forward, and  so  bright. 

From  this  town  I  got  the  best  connections  with 

234 


ON  THE  YSER  235 

the  West  of  Belgium,  and  as  a  rule  I  always  made 
my  first  visit  to  ancient  and  pretty  Bruges,  which 
was  constantly  strongly  occupied  by  the  Germans. 
In  front  of  the  well-known  Halls  two  small  guns 
had  been  mounted,  threatening  the  market-square. 
The  same  was  the  case  in  front  of  the  Palace  of 
Justice,  where  the  commander's  office  was  estab- 
lished. The  Government  buildings  in  the  market 
were  entirely  occupied  by  the  naval  staff  of  Admiral 
von  Schroeder,  and  dozens  of  sailors  were  sitting 
in  the  offices,  working  at  their  typewriting  machines. 

Soldiers  came  from  and  went  back  to  the  Yser, 
which  river  I  saw  three  times  during  the  fierce 
fighting. 

The  first  time  when  the  Germans  had  only  been 
there  for  about  ten  days,  and  huge  masses  were  sent 
to  the  scene  of  battle,  because  they  had  decided 
to  break  through  at  any  cost. 

Along  the  coast  the  German  line  did  not  reach 
far  beyond  Mariakerke,  where  a  big  German  flag 
on  a  high  dune  indicated  their  most  advanced  front. 
Thanks  to  the  consent  of  a  couple  of  officers  I  was 
allowed  to  push  on  to  the  front  lines,  and  did  this 
in  spite  of  the  danger  from  bursting  shrapnel.  The 
wounded  had  to  walk  back  from  there  to  Ostend, 
very  often  suffering  the  most  trying  pains,  because, 
according  to  what  they  told  me,  the  Red  Cross 
Service  was  not  able  to  help  them  all.  They  were 
very  dissatisfied  on  account  of  the  waste  of  human 
life  by  which  the  attacks  were  accompanied,  and 
some  made  bitter  remarks  about  the  staff  which 
seemed  to  be  mad,  constantly  sending  new  troops  into 
the  murderous  fire  with  such  evident  callousness. 


236     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

I  have  been  able  to  assist  a  good  many  of  these 
unfortunate  people  by  bandaging  the  wounds  with 
the  dressing  they  gave  me,  or  getting  some  water 
for  them  from  some  house  in  the  neighbourhood; 
and  one,  who  had  fallen  down  exhausted  by  pain, 
I  carried  into  a  house. 

I  had  more  trouble  with  a  wretch  who,  being 
heavily  wounded  in  both  legs,  lay  on  the  top  of  a 
dune  beyond  Mariakerke.  He  was  quite  alone,  and 
when  he  discovered  me  his  eyes  glistened,  full  of 
hope.  He  told  me  of  his  agonies,  and  beseeched 
me  to  take  him  to  a, house  or  an  ambulance.  How- 
ever much  I  should  have  liked  to  do  that,  it  was 
impossible  in  the  circumstances  in  which  I  found 
myself.  Nowhere,  even  in  the  farthest  distance, 
was  a  house  to  be  seen,  and  I  tried  to  explain  the 
position  to  him.  But  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  my 
exhortations,  and  insisted  that  I  should  help  him.  It 
was  a  painful  business,  for  I  could  not  do  the  im- 
possible. So  I  promised  him,  and  took  my  oath 
that  I  should  warn  the  first  ambulance  I  met,  and 
see  to  it  that  they  came  and  fetched  him. 

I  went  away  urging  him  to  maintain  his  courage 
for  the  time  being,  but  he  had  scarcely  noticed  that 
I  was  about  to  go,  when  his  eyes  began  to  gleam  and 
to  roll  in  his  head;  then  he  took  his  rifle,  which  was 
lying  by  his  side,  and  I,  seeing  his  intention,  ran 
down  the  dune  as  quickly  as  possible,  whilst  I  heard 
the  well-known  click-clack  behind  me;  the  man  had 
fired  two  bullets  at  me.  .  .  . 

I  must  not  take  that  sort  of  thing  amiss.  Who 
knew  with  how  much  pain  and  how  long  he  had 
been  lying  there,  facing  death,  but  fearing  it  too. 


ON  THE  YSER  237 

At  last  someone  came  near,  and  he  put  all  his  hope 
in  that  man,  but  a  hope  that  vanished.  Yes,  I  can 
quite  understand  that  a  man  in  those  conditions 
goes  mad. 

I  was  not  able  to  stay  long  at  Mariakerke,  but 
succeeded,  by  going  in  an  easterly  direction,  to  get 
near  Leke,  where  the  fight  was  also  in  full  swing, 
and  where  evidently  the  same  command  had  been 
issued:  "Advance  at  any  cost."  The  German  artil- 
lery stood  south  of  Leke,  but  I  succeeded  in  push- 
ing on  to  a  hill  near  the  road,  where  I  could  see 
the  columns  of  smoke  of  the  Belgian  artillery  and 
the  clouds  of  dust  which  the  German  shrapnel  threw 
up. 

The  Germans  advanced  in  a  formation  which  I 
had  never  seen  yet.  The  men  went  at  the  double- 
quick  in  closed  ranks  three  abreast,  each  of  the 
threefold  files  marching  at  a  small  distance  from 
the  other. 

They  stormed  the  Belgian  lines  with  lowered 
bayonets.  The  Belgians  quietly  allowed  them  to 
come  near,  but  as  soon  as  they  were  at  a  certain 
distance  from  the  trenches  they  wished  to  take,  I 
heard  the  rattle  of  the  mitrailleuses,  and  the  thunder 
of  the  guns.  The  storming  soldiers  then  disappeared 
in  a  fog  of  smoke  and  dust,  in  which  I  saw  their 
shadows  fall  and  stagger.  This  went  on  for  about 
ten  minutes,  and  then  they  came  back  in  complete 
disorder,  still  followed  by  the  hostile  bullets  and 
shrapnel. 

A  period  of  calm  followed,  but  not  for  long,  for 
again  and  again  new  attacks  were  made. 

I  myself  was  not  very  safe  either,  for  frequently 


238     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

bursting  shells  fell  near  me.  I  therefore  thought 
it  safer  to  cross  to  a  farm-house  a  hundred  yards 
farther  on,  where  I  might  find  shelter.  Before  I 
got  there  an  officer  of  a  passing  division  took  me 
violently  by  the  arm  and  asked  who  I  was  and  what 
I  was  doing  there?  His  eyes  glittered  savagely, 
and  he  as  well  as  his  men  seemed  to  be  fearfully 
excited. 

I  said  in  a  few  words  who  I  was,  and  showed  one 
of  my  German  permits.  He  had  scarcely  seen  the 
many  German  stamps  on  it  when  he  let  me  go 
and  went  on  with  his  men.  I  then  pinned  on  my 
coat  two  permits  which  had  the  greatest  number 
of  stamps,  and  in  consequence  had  no  further  trou- 
ble. 

From  the  garret-window  of  the  farm-house  I 
followed  the  fierce  battle  for  another  half-hour, 
and  saw  that  the  Germans  suffered  enormous 
losses,  but  achieved  no  gains.  At  last  I  had  to 
leave  this  place  too,  because  shells  fell  again  quite 
near  to  the  house.  I  stayed  another  ten  minutes 
near  an  ambulance,  where  they  were  quite  unable 
to  attend  to  the  numerous  wounded  men.  Most 
of  them  got  an  emergency  dressing,  and  were  ad- 
vised to  go  higher  up  and  try  to  get  better  attention 
there. 

The  battle  I  saw  that  day  on  the  Yser  was  the 
beginning  of  the  trench-war  in  that  district.  Many 
Belgian  troops  had  dug  themselves  in,  and  later  on 
this  system  was  extended,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  Belgian  line  there  became  impregnable. 

In  those  days  German  Headquarters  gave  con- 
tinuously the  thoughtless  order:  "To  Calais,  to 


ON  THE  YSER  239 

Calais,"  and  the  Staff  considered  no  difficulties,  cal- 
culated no  sacrifices,  in  order  to  achieve  success. 

What  these  frenzied  orders  have  cost  in  human 
lives  History  will  tell  later  on. 

As  soon  as  the  Germans  were  near  the  coast 
they  began  to  fortify  it  most  formidably,  in  order 
to  prevent  eventual  attempts  at  landing  by  hostile 
troops.  Guns  were  soon  mounted  in  the  dunes,  as 
I  noticed  during  a  trip  which  I  made  along  the  coast 
on  Sunday,  October  25th. 

Heyst  was  occupied  by  a  small  division  of  marines, 
although  a  few  days  before  the  garrison  had  been 
larger,  but  on  Saturday  evening  all  soldiers  along 
the  coast  had  been  alarmed,  and  most  of  them  were 
ordered  to  proceed  to  the  battle-field  near  Nieuw- 
poort,  where  matters  were  at  the  time  less  favour- 
able for  the  Germans.  Near  the  dyke  I  found  five 
pieces  of  ordnance  mounted,  their  mouths  turned  to- 
wards the  sea,  and  that  they  were  quite  right  in  taking 
precautions  was  proved  by  the  men-of-war  riding  on 
the  distant  horizon,  without  motion. 

In  the  centre  of  the  town  I  was  detained  by  three 
sailors,  who  called  out  an  angry  "Halt!"  seized  my 
bicycle,  and  made  me  a  prisoner,  "because  I  was  an 
Englishman."  Happily  I  could  prove  the  contrary 
by  my  papers;  and  the  permit  of  the  Bruges  com- 
mander to  go  about  on  a  bicycle  made  them  re- 
turn it. 

There  was  a  general  complaint  in  that  district 
about  the  very  arbitrary  requisitions:  for  example, 
beds  and  blankets  were  extensively  taken  away  from 
the  convents,  a  thing  against  which  the  burgomaster 


240     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

of  Bruges  had  already  protested.  Horses,  cows,  and 
other  cattle  were  simply  taken  from  the  stables  and 
the  meadows,  and  paid  for  with  paper  promises. 

At  Zeebrugge  the  conditions  were  not  alarming. 
The  houses  of  those  who  had  gone  away,  however, 
had  been  damaged  most  terribly,  and  looted.  Round 
the  harbour  guns  were  mounted,  guarded  by  many 
sentries.  I  was  at  first  forbidden  to  cross  the  canal 
bridge,  but  my  excellent  credentials  at  length  made 
the  sentries  give  in.  Everything  indicated  that  al- 
ready during  the  first  days  of  the  occupation  the  Ger- 
mans had  begun  to  execute  their  plan  to  turn 
Zeebrugge  into  a  station  for  submarines. 

The  commander  ruled  with  a  strong  hand.  They 
issued  not  only  the  usual  proclamations  about  intro- 
ducing German  time,  but  the  commander  went  even 
so  far  as  to  dictate  at  what  hour  the  Holy  Masses 
had  to  be  said.  In  one  of  the  proclamations  I  read, 
for  example,  that  in  future  the  Mass  of  six  o'clock, 
Belgian  time,  had  to  be  said  at  the  same  hour  Ger- 
man time.  Another  proclamation  said  that  skippers 
were  forbidden  to  sail,  and  that  all  boats,  including 
fisher-boats,  had  been  seized. 

In  the  dunes  near  Ostend  I  came  across  a  level 
field  fenced  off  by  the  military,  and  in  the  centre  I 
saw  a  large  company  of  superior  officers,  and  a  ma- 
rine band.  They  were  arranged  round  three  big 
caves,  into  which  just  then  had  been  lowered  nine 
military  officers  and  ordinary  soldiers,  who  died  in 
the  nearly  completed  new  Military  Hospital  of  Os- 
tend in  the  neighbourhood. 

With  a  powerful  voice,  in  order  to  drown  the 
roar  of  the  guns,  a  German  parson  delivered  the 


ON  THE  YSER 

funeral  oration,  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  heroic 
conduct  of  the  fallen  men,  who  had  sacrificed  their 
lives  for  God,  Kaiser,  and  Fatherland,  and  who, 
by  God's  inscrutable  decree,  were  not  destined  to 
witness  the  final  victory  of  the  powerful  German 
armies.  The  marines  put  their  instruments  to  their 
mouths  and  played  a  slow  funeral  march.  It  was 
really  very  touching,  and  all  the  spectators  came 
under  the  impression. 

Whilst  yet  the  sweet  strains  of  the  music  sounded 
over  the  dunes,  the  dull  booming  of  the  heavy  field- 
artillery  was  heard  constantly,  and  each  boom 
meant  the  end  of  so  many  more  human  lives.  The 
music  went  on,  and  the  officers  approached  one 
after  the  other  to  throw  a  handful  of  sand  on  the 
corpses  of  their  fallen  comrades.  I  saw  their  nostrils 
tremble,  saw  them  bite  their  lips  nervously,  saw  tears 
in  their  eyes. 

The  cerejnony  wound  up  with  a  short  silent  prayer 
offered  at  the  request  of  the  parson. 

The  funeral  had  deeply  moved  me,  and  full  of 
emotion  I  approached  the  edge  of  the  graves.  I 
saw  three  corpses  in  each  of  them,  simply  wrapped 
in  a  clean,  white  sheet.  The  only  decorations  were 
some  green  palm  branches  .  .  .  the  branches  telling 
of  peace. 

A  little  farther  on  I  discovered  a  good  many  other 
mounds.  A  cross  made  of  two  little  pieces  of  wood 
stood  on  each,  amongst  pots  with  flowers  and  small 
posies.  On  one  of  the  crosses  I  saw  written  in 
pencil — 

"Captain  Count  Von  Schwerin,   19,1 0/14." 


THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

It  was  very  interesting,  because  a  humble  private 
had  been  buried  by  his  side. 

Of  course  I  did  not  know  this  Count  von  Schwerin, 
but  because  I  had  just  witnessed  that  funeral,  and 
because  it  was  so  striking  that  men  of  every  class 
were  buried  in  the  same  manner,  I  reported  what  I 
saw  to  my  paper.  And,  tragic  fate,  in  consequence 
of  this,  the  wife  of  the  late  Count  heard  for  the  first 
time  of  the  death  of  her  husband  to  whom  she,  a 
Netherland  baroness,  had  been  married  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war.  At  the  request  of  the  family  I 
made  arrangements  so  that  the  grave  might  be  rec- 
ognised after  the  war. 

In  Ostend  every  place  was  full  of  wounded  men, 
who  all  came  walking  from  the  battle-field  in  groups. 
Even  in  those  days  the  fierce  fights  continued  in  con- 
sequence of  the  mad  attempts  to  conquer  Dunkirk 
and  Calais.  Great  losses  were  suffered  also  by  the 
enormous  effect  of  the  British  naval  guns,  against 
which  the  German  marines  had  mounted  big  guns  in 
Ostend  and  farther  along  the  coast,  in  order  to  keep 
the  fleet  at  a  distance. 

On  the  day  of  my  visit  to  Ostend  all  sorts  of 
conveyances  had  taken  more  than  3,000  wounded 
into  the  town.  Peasants  from  the  neighbourhood 
were  compelled  to  harness  their  horses  and  transport 
the  unfortunate  men.  Such  a  procession  was  dis- 
tressing to  look  at,  as  most  men  lay  on  open  carts, 
only  supported  by  a  handful  of  newly  cut  straw,  and 
long  processions  entered  the  town  continuously.  As 
reinforcements  had  arrived,  the  divisions  of  the  Ger- 
man army  which  had  suffered  most  came  sometimes 


ON  THE  YSER  243 

from  the  front  to  the  town,  in  order  to  have  a  rest, 
and  then  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  misery. 

Some  of  the  soldiers  were  furious  and  others 
distressed  on  account  of  the  great  number  of 
comrades  left  on  the  battle-field,  while  they  hardly 
made  any  progress  against  the  tenacity  of  the  Allies. 
Those  who  were  not  seriously  wounded  were  not 
even  put  up  in  hospitals  or  similar  buildings,  as  there 
was  only  room  for  a  few,  although  many  private 
houses  had  been  turned  into  supplementary  hospitals. 
In  the  streets  and  the  cafes  I  saw  therefore  hundreds 
of  men  in  bandages. 

The  condition  of  the  civilian  population  was  not 
too  roseate.  Most  of  them  were  away,  and  from 
those  who  had  stayed  everything  was  requisitioned. 
Staying  in  the  town  was  not  without  danger,  for 
two  days  before  my  visit  it  had  been  bombarded 
from  noon  to  one  o'clock  by  the  British  fleet,  by 
which  an  hotel  on  the  boulevard  and  some  houses 
in  the  Rue  des  Flamands  had  been  damaged. 

From  Ostend  I  went  a  few  days  later  to  Thourout, 
a  townlet  to  the  north  of  the  centre  of  the  Yser- 
line.  I  was  accompanied  by  two  Netherland 
colleagues  whom  I  had  met  at  Bruges.  Everything 
was  quiet  there;  the  commander  of  the  naval 
region,  Admiral  von  Schroeder,  had  made  himself 
slightly  ridiculous,  by  informing  the  population  in 
a  proclamation  that  he  had  ordered  the  British  citi- 
zens in  the  coastal  region  to  leave  the  country,  in 
order  to  protect  them  from  their  fellow-countrymen 
of  the  British  fleet,  who,  by  bombarding  Ostend,  had 
endangered  their  lives. 

As  we  left  through  the  Gate-of-Bruges  towards 


244     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

Thourout  we  were  approached  by  a  small  military 
group,  a  few  German  soldiers  who  escorted  about 
a  dozen  French  and  Belgian  prisoners  of  war.  Un- 
til that  moment  the  street  had  been  relatively  quiet, 
but  the  inhabitants  had  scarcely  heard  that  the 
"boys"  came,  when  each  ran  into  the  street,  forget- 
ting all  fear  of  the  "Duuts,"  and,  breaking  through 
the  escort,  they  gave  their  "boys"  an  apple,  or  a  pear, 
or  a  packet  of  cigarettes;  so  we  saw  a  huge  round 
of  white  bread  fly  through  the  air  and  land  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  the  "boys."  Such  a  thing  touches 
one  always,  and  even  the  escorting  Germans,  who 
at  first  were  very  indignant  on  account  of  the  sud- 
den and  unexpected  intrusion,  left  the  citizens  alone 
with  a  generous  gesture,  as  to  say :  "Well,  have  your 
way." 

The  other  eleven  miles  of  the  road  to  Thourout 
were  quite  deserted,  and  only  in  one  place  did  I  see 
a  man  working  in  the  field.  We  only  saw  now  and 
again  a  small  escort  which  overtook  us.  From  afar 
a  trooper  approached  us;  after  having  heard  who 
we  were,  he  told  us  that  he  had  been  on  the  way 
already  three  days  and  three  nights  from  the  trench 
lines,  and  how  fierce  the  fighting  was  there.  The 
German  losses  had  been  immense;  he  pointed  to 
the  unoccupied  horse  by  his  side,  and  said:  "My 
chum,  whose  horse  this  was,  fell  also."  He  took 
a  couple  of  strong  pulls  at  his  pipe,  and,  spurring 
his  mount,  rode  off  with  a :  "Keep  well." 

At  Thourout  all  convents  and  large  buildings  had 
been  turned  into  hospitals,  and  the  streets  on  both 
sides  were  full  of  big  wagons.  Hundreds  of  soldiers 
went  off,  and  large  convoys  of  carts  were  standing 


ON  THE  YSER  245 

in  the  meadows  and  on  the  roads,  where  officers 
and  men  were  also  practising  riding.  We  were  here 
in  the  rear,  where  there  was  a  continuous  going 
and  coming  from  the  front.  Most  soldiers  were  in 
a  more  or  less  excited  mood;  some  did  not  hide 
their  discontent,  or  sat  musing  dejectedly,  asking 
themselves  how  these  terrible  days  would  end  for 
them?  Others  again  seemed  to  have  got  into  a  sort 
of  frenzy  in  consequence  of  the  continuous  fighting 
and  were  not  able  to  think  logically  at  all.  They 
told  excited  stories  about  the  British  whom  they 
had  killed,  and  chased  away  from  the  42  c.m.  guns, 
who,  according  to  them,  were  also  at  work  in  the 
swampy  soil  near  Nieuwpoort,  and  also  told  about 
the  shooting  civilians,  and  those  cursed  Belgians, 
who  cut  open  the  bellies  of  their  poor  wounded, 
or  sliced  off  their  noses,  hands,  and  ears.  Of  course 
pure  fairy  tales,  but  recited  with  much  power  of 
conviction. 

The  question  of  lodgings  brought  also  many  dif- 
ficulties, for  nobody  wanted  to,  or  could  put  us  up. 
At  last  we  succeeded  at  the  Hotel  1'Union,  where 
we  first  ate  two  roasted  pigeons  which  were  in- 
tended for  a  couple  of  officers,  who  would  return 
in  the  evening  from  the  front  line.  The  three  of 
us  subsequently  occupied  one  room,  after  having 
written  on  the  door  with  chalk  that  Lieutenants 
So  and  So  were  staying  there.  For  the  landlady 
had  told  us  that  she  was  willing  to  put  us  up,  but 
that  the  officers  who  returned  every  night  from  the 
front  line  were  sure  to  turn  us  out.  Indeed  in  the 
evening  we  heard  heavy  steps  before  our  door,  but 
after  a  voice  had  read  out  that  Lieutenants  So  and 


£46     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

So  were  passing  the  night  there,  they  all  went  away 
again. 

The  next  morning  the  roar  of  the  cannon  woke 
us  up,  and  soon  we  heard  how  the  fighting  stood, 
for  when  we  went  to  the  commander  for  a  permit 
to  go  to  Dixmuiden,  the  sympathetic  major  abso- 
lutely refused  it,  and  haltingly  added  that  he  himself 
did  not  yet  know  how  things  stood  there.  Well, 
that  was  enough  for  us.  At  last  he  gave  us  a  permit 
for  Ostend,  and  we  noticed  very  soon  that  now  we 
were  in  the  rear  of  the  front.  Whilst  the  guns  were 
thundering  on  continuously  and  the  shrapnel 
exploded  in  the  air,  we  passed  continuously  large 
contingents,  who  actually  formed  one  long  line. 
The  fight  was  going  on  only  a  few  miles  away,  and 
incessantly  the  unhappy  wounded  came  out  of  the 
small  bypaths,  stumbling  on  in  their  heavily  muddied 
clothes. 

At  the  "Oud  Slot  van  Vlaanderen,"  a  large,  ancient 
castle,  there  was  a  lot  of  hustle  and  bustle  of  car- 
riages and  motor-cars.  We  had  not  gone  another 
two  hundred  yards,  when  someone  came  after  us 
and  stopped  us  as  suspects.  We  were  escorted  back 
to  the  castle,  where  a  general  command  was  estab- 
lished, and  an  aviators-division,  with  the  motor-sec- 
tion attached  to  it.  Happily  our  detention  did  not 
last  long,  and  after  examination  we  were  released. 
On  the  road  was  an  infernal  noise,  as  the  violent 
roar  of  the  cannon  was  mixing  with  the  roar  of  the 
wheels  of  the  heavily-loaded  convoys  and  the  whirr 
and  hooting  of  the  army  motors.  Long  processions 
of  field-kitchens  passed  us  also,  most  of  them  brand- 
new;  but  it  was  remarkable  that  all  carts  arranged 


-ON  THE  YSER  247 

for  a  team  of  two  were  drawn  with  great  difficulty 
by  only  one  horse,  and  also  that  so  many  civilians 
have  been  compelled  to  act  as  drivers,  or  to  gather 
the  wounded. 

Constantly  new  and  large  transports  of  wounded 
came  along  the  road,  and  here  and  there  they  were 
busy  killing  and  burying  wounded  horses.  The 
inhabitants  locked  themselves  in  their  houses,  and 
expected  with  great  fear  that  any  moment  the 
military  might  arrive  to  claim  their  last  horse  or 
cow.  The  requisitions  went  on  continuously,  and 
the  cattle  were  driven  to  the  front  in  a  long,  desolate 
procession. 

As  we  went  on  towards  Eerneghem  French  avi- 
ators were  heroically  reconnoitring  above  the  Ger- 
man lines.  One  came  from  Dixmuiden  and  one 
from  Nieuwpoort;  both  went  to  about  half-way  be- 
tween these  two  towns,  where  the  centre  of  the  battle 
was.  The  Germans  kept  up  an  unbroken  artillery 
fire  at  those  birds  in  the  air.  I  saw  quite  near 
to  them  shells  exploding  right  and  left  and  discharg- 
ing dense,  black  clouds  of  smoke  that  disappeared 
slowly.  There  were  moments  when  these  black 
stretches  of  cloud  seemed  to  form  a  frame  round 
the  aeroplanes,  but  the  brave  aviators  knew  how  to 
escape  from  their  assailants  by  all  sorts  of  tricks. 
They  came  down  to  go  up  again  unexpectedly,  en- 
tirely changed  their  direction  a  moment  later,  and  at 
last  both  disappeared  undamaged. 

At  Eerneghem  we  were  not  only  stopped,  but  also 
sent  back  outright.  It  was  considered  extremely 
impudent  on  our  side  that  we  had  dared  to  push 
on  so  far,  because  we  were  in  the  fighting-line.  Even 


248     THE  GERMAN  FURY  IN  BELGIUM 

the  permit  given  by  the  commander  of  Thourout 
was  of  no  avail. 

Back  at  Bruges  we  attended  in  the  market  the 
concert  given  by  a  German  military  band  near  the 
statues  of  Breydel  and  de  Koninck.  At  the  com- 
mander's office  I  witnessed  a  remarkable  incident. 
A  German  post-official  and  a  soldier  had  just  brought 
in  a  decently  dressed  gentleman.  The  postman  be-, 
gan  to  relate  that  he  was  taking  away  the  telephone 
instrument  at  that  gentleman's  house  in  order  to  fix 
it  up  at  the  commander's  office,  and  that  the  gentle- 
man had  said:  "Why  do  you  steal  that  instrument?" 
as  the  postman  said  this  the  commander  jumped 
up  in  a  fury,  and  called  out: 

"What?  What?  Do  you  dare  to  call  it  steal- 
ing, what  we  Germans  take  here  in  Bruges?" 

"Sir,  I  do  not  understand  German,  but " 

"Not  a  word,  not  a  word;  you  have  insulted  a 
German  official,  and  according  to  the  proclamation 
you  know  that  that  is  severely  punished.  You  are 
my  prisoner." 

As  he  said  this  the  commander  put  his  hand 
roughly  on  the  shoulder  of  the  trembling  man,  who 
again  said  in  French : 

"I  have  not  used  the  word  'steal'  at  all,  but  let 
me  explain  the  matter." 

"There  is  nothing  to  explain.  Officer,  you  can 
take  your  oath  on  it?" 

"Certainly,  captain." 

"Well" — this  to  a  private — "you  call  the  patrol; 
this  man  must  be  arrested." 

The  unhappy  man  bowed  his  head  trembling,  and 


ON  THE  YSER  249 

with  dull  resignation  he  left  the  office,  strongly 
escorted. 

The  man  who  had  this  experience  was  Mr.  Cop- 
pieters,  the  District  Commissioner,  a  man  who  had 
given  all  his  life  to  the  service  of  society  and  the 
good  of  the  community. 

Happily  the  burgomaster  intervened,  and,  as  I 
heard  later,  got  him  released. 

These  are  some  of  the  things  I  could  tell  about 
my  trips  in  the  West  of  Belgium.  By  the  end  of 
November  I  was  no  longer  allowed  to  move  freely 
behind  the  front,  although  from  time  to  time  I 
visited  small  Belgian  frontier-places. 

Yet  I  am  glad  to  have  witnessed  the  terrible  fights 
near  the  Yser  a  couple  of  times  where  the  German 
invasion  was  stopped,  and  where  we  may  hope  that 
soon  victory  may  dawn  on  the  brave  Belgian  army. 


THIS  BOOK  Is 


DUE 


7    1932 
NOV  24  1935 


YB  21433 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


